Women in Neuroscience

Our Vision

Women in Neuroscience (WiN) believes that less bias leads to better science. We envision an inclusive scientific community, which produces better outcomes in every way. This means we need representative diversity in the neuroscience and neurology fields. When we see diversity in practitioners, researchers, and leaders, we see accelerated breakthroughs and better outcomes for all populations. 

Talent isn’t gendered, and opportunity shouldn’t be. That’s why WiN strives to diversify the neuroscience field by encouraging female students from historically excluded communities to pursue leadership careers in the neurosciences. We aim to educate and empower young women to benefit all neurological patients.

How We Will Reach Our Vision

WiN's building a diverse community of women leaders in neuroscience and neurology. Through summer internships, educational opportunities, and one-on-one mentoring, we ensure our young women “WiNterns” build the confidence and leadership skills necessary to realize their career goals.

WiNterns are immersed in the fields of neuroscience and neurology, many for the first time ever, to explore a field that is overwhelmingly populated by men. Through internships, mentorship, and scholarships, WiN builds a pipeline of highly qualified, dedicated female professionals in these fields and offers them a lifetime community of support.

Internships, Mentorship, and Scholarships:  WiN sponsors young women to participate in paid, 8-week internships working with scientists in the UT Department of Neuroscience and the Dell Medical School Department of Neurology. Our internships build a pipeline of highly qualified, dedicated female professionals in these fields and offer an entry point to a lifetime community of support. 

Key aspects of WiN’s internships include working with a scientist, gaining access to lab experience, and receiving one-on-one advising and guidance from faculty hosts.

We also offer seminars on the basics of research, daily speakers from different areas in the neurological fields, and coaching in writing, speaking, and leadership. 

And, we engage with WiNterns along their career journeys, offering academic and professional development scholarships to offer support throughout their careers.

WiN prioritizes students from underrepresented communities, those who are first-generation to attend college, and students without any prior access to lab experience. 

We partner with the Ann Richards School for Young Women Leaders, Huston-Tillotson University and the UT Austin College of Natural Sciences to recruit high-performing students to spend the summer as WiNterns. To ensure this opportunity is an option for all students, WiNterns are compensated so that personal finances are not a barrier to participation.

Why Does This Matter?

The neuroscience field suffers from a lack of diverse representation in practitioners, researchers, and leaders. These disparities stem from barriers to underrepresented minorities entering science-related fields in general, and biases and stereotypes also are factors. This lack of diversity leads to inequitable outcomes among women and people of color. 

Although women make up at least 50% of neuroscience students at the predoctoral and doctoral levels, they leave the field at a greater rate than men. Women who remain in the neuroscience field are less represented in research, at leadership levels, and in tenured professorships. Women in neuroscience also are paid less, receive fewer primary citations, have their work questioned more, and do not always receive credit for their work.

And, despite roughly equal levels of interest in STEM, students from underrepresented minorities are about half as likely to complete a STEM degree in college, as compared to white and Asian students. This results in a limited pool of talent from which the field can recruit and hampers the ability to highlight the research and work of people from underrepresented backgrounds. 

But research shows that diversity in practitioners, researchers and leaders has real and lasting impact by: 

- Accelerating breakthroughs
- Reducing barriers faced by underrepresented minorities throughout society
- Improving research and health outcomes across all populations

And it’s more important now than ever. Neurological disorders are on the rise and are increasingly recognized as major causes of death and disability worldwide, making the need for representative diversity in the fields of neuroscience and neurology even more critical.

- Compelling data shows that diverse groups, including women and people of color, generate more creative ideas and improved scientific outcomes than homogenous groups do.
- Diversity among medical researchers increases trust from minority groups who have historically been marginalized and even oppressed by medical research, leading to better recruitment from these populations to conduct studies on the issues they face.

Learn more: www.neurowomen.org