Segregation of Female Scientists!

Sadly he hasn't resigned from FRS or handed back his Nobel Prize. Apparently he will be asked to resign from FRS committees (as per this comment). But that's not really enough.

I'm wondering who thought it was a good idea to have him speak at that conference?

Back at work today, it turned out that a colleague who was away yesterday was one of his students years ago and knew his wife. Said this had come as a real surprise, he hadn't seemed like this back then. Meanwhile the only tears were of laughter at something completely unrelated. No one fell in love with anyone else over the test tubes either.

Its a fantastic job being a scientist.

Nice rack ? - I'm even fond of those eppendorf tubes.

Depends monsterous

Are you a Nobel Laureate in your field?

Have you been to an international conference in your chosen field and told people that men shouldn't work with you, because you'll make them cry?

Have you, when challenged, gone down the "It was all a joke, can't you take a joke?" route, instead of the "Sorry, I was being a total arse, it won't happen again" route?

If none of the above, neither of you should resign.

One of my colleagues just sent this round the office!

#distractinglysexy

I made a man cry at work once. Which of us needs to leave?

I can't imagine Yonic, really I can't. An understandable reaction to a stressful situation or a temper tantrum? Hmmm. Lets think.

It annoys me anyway that crying is seen as such a big deal when work is often stressful, people aren't always nice to you and outside pressures may not be helping. It just smacks of misogyny for me, because women are more likely to cry as a way of expressing their frustration so it is seen as this Terrible. Thing. To Be. Avoided.

I read an article ages ago that stated that the emotions that women were allowed in the workplace were much more restricted than men. Initially I thought rubbish. But then I thought about all the passive aggressive remarks/sulking, the outbursts, the storming off, the swearing etc and I think that they are probably right. When women do those things it is noticed much much more.

I cried once in my first job (through exhaustion, not criticism - late nights were common). Male colleagues regularly slammed the phone down swearing.

Who do you think the (male) manager worried about?

I work with predominantly men. I've witnessed at least two of them in tears (not over anything I said to them I hasten to add). Perhaps men shouldn't be in the worklplace if they continually show these emotions?

I've also witnessed many more of them get very angry even violent in the workplace. Perhaps men shouldn't be there if they can't control their emotions?

I've also witnessed sexual harassment from men in the workplace. Perhaps men shouldn't be there if they can't stop thinking with their dicks?

I've witnessed far too many times to recall men in the workplace being sexist, homophobic, ableist or racist. Perhaps they shouldn't be in the workplace if they are such bigots?

I know! Ridiculous huh! How would workplaces manage without men? We couldn't even countenance the possibility.

Well, I've found a younger picture of him and I take it all back. He's right. How could one resist?

He's probably like an academic I know of who rarely has a post doc last more than six months in his lab as he's so horrible to work for.

Makes me thankful for my PhD supervisor. He says that the women he's had in his lab have been better than the men but the men have done better in academia because they think they're better than they are whereas the women don't live up to their own impossible standards.

If one or two men swear when given criticism, does anyone ever say "you can't criticise men because they swear"? Or are men seen as individuals with individual reactions?

He may have resigned, but there's no acknowledgement in his "apology" that he has any understanding of where he went wrong. He says he was trying to be humorous and honest.

If women do cry when he gives criticism, it makes me wonder what he's like at giving criticism - is it constructive and helpful, so they can do better in future by learning from mistakes, and with praise being given where it's due? Or just bullying, beating them down all the time? You will probably get the odd one or two who cries, if you are managing people over a long career, but if it's something which happens regularly, I suspect there would be one common factor, and it's not the recipients of the criticism.

And he's clearly missed out on any training on diversity or harassment, if he thought it was appropriate as humour - especially in such a forum; it was hardly down the pub with his lab mates.

This caused much merriment amongst my male and female scientist colleagues yesterday, I know it's not funny at all really, but sometimes something is so shocking it's funny. Most of us (male and female) had encountered sexual shenanigans in the scientific workplace, but surely this is no different to other workplaces. Love the "puts the nob in Nobel" comment.

"I suspect its because labs are where he works and he has a slight blind spot re.extrapolating from his experience to others'"

Yup!

I wondered that too, Yonic.it's barking. I suspect its because labs are where he works and he has a slight blind spot re.extrapolating from his experience to others'. Did get me an amusing daydream about sex segregation in my workplace though. Most days I'd be all alone - would be very peaceful.

I think that's the right outcome.

I also don't know why he thinks labs are unique. They are a workplace. Relationships in the workplace are common and need to be carefully handled, science or not. Does he think Yvette Cooper should be sent to work in a different Parliament?

Tim Hunt has now resigned.

This one is quite fun too.

Amazing comment article here - ban old men from science.

My favourite comment is: 'Tim Hunt: puts the nob in Nobel'.

A major point that he has missed by claiming it's a joke... Would he say "don't have black people in your lab because they play distracting rap music" or something equally ludicrous and claim it was a joke? No because he'd know that it was a racist comment.

He's married to an immunology professor.

As one of my colleagues just said (we're both female scientists) what does it say about him that he frequently reduced people to tears in his lab? What sort of a person does that? I (fortunately) have never had a boss, supervisor or PhD advisor, of either sex, do that to me. What sort of people do that? Oh yes, bullies, that's right.

Because obviously crying is the worst thing you can do in a lab...

Indeed. And even if people (because, let's face it, men actually do cry as well) react differently to criticism that doesn't make it impossible to criticise them. It simply means you have to accept that ... ready yourselves for this revelation ... not all people are the same.

Boom - can I have a Nobel Prize as well now?