A neuroscientific approach to increase gender equality

Christiane Schreiweis (1) , Emmanuelle Volle (1) , Alexandra Durr (1) , Alexandra Auffret (1) , Cécile Delarasse (1) , Nathalie George (1) , Magali Dumont (1) , Bassem Hassan (1) , Nicolas M Renier (1) , Charlotte Rosso (1) , Michel Thiébaut (1) , Eric Burguière (1) , Violetta Zujovic (1)

1 ICM - Institut du Cerveau = Paris Brain Institute

To the Editor-Gender inequality is prevalent in many countries and cultures, and it persists despite our awareness of it and the policies some countries have put in place to combat it. France, for example, offers significant opportunities to enable women to handle both career and personal life: it provides a social healthcare system that was ranked No. 1 by the World Health Organization in 2000, a legal framework promoting gender equality 1 , and relatively accessible and affordable childcare and scholastic infrastructure. Herein lies the paradox: despite France having a strong reputation for providing a favourable social and professional context, French women still lag behind French men in their careers. One of the main reasons gender inequality persists despite this supportive infrastructure is the perpetuation of implicit biases and gender stereotypes. These shape the way we behave, our ability to recognize unequal treatment, the willingness of disadvantaged individuals to speak up, and even the research conducted in institutions that have been raising awareness of gender inequalities in science since 2001 2,3

Domaines: Neurosciences; Psychologie; Psychologie et comportements; Etudes sur le genre

Christiane Schreiweis, Emmanuelle Volle, Alexandra Durr, Alexandra Auffret, Cécile Delarasse, et al.. A neuroscientific approach to increase gender equality. Nature Human Behaviour, 2019, 3 (12), pp.1238-1239. ⟨10.1038/s41562-019-0755-7⟩. ⟨hal-03006221⟩