Women in Clinical Neuroscience

Aims

Women are significantly underrepresented in clinical academia. At the University of Oxford, women comprise 60 per cent of all trainee doctors but only 15 per cent of clinical professors. Several structural and cultural factors are thought to contribute to the loss of women from the clinical academic pipeline.

WICN aims to increase the number and proportion of female clinical neuroscientists in Oxford, both through recruitment of new staff and retention of existing staff. It will do this by:

• Providing a warm, confidential and welcoming environment to build friendships and form peer support networks
• Facilitating open and frank discussion of individual experiences of progression barriers, from junior to senior level
• Considering what makes a successful female clinical neuroscientist at all career stages via individual case presentations
• Signposting support that already exists for women in NDCN

Feedback

The most used word when giving feedback on the inaugural conference in 2021 was 'inspiring', followed by 'encouraging', 'thought-provoking' and 'reaffirming'. Participants said that they most enjoyed interacting, meeting new people and hearing individual stories.