1/15-22/2021 - "Picture a Scientist" Virtual Film Screening and Panel Discussion

 

During the period of January 15th-22nd, 2021 the RPA^3 co-hosted a virtual screening of the movie Picture a Scientist about the challenges faced by women navigating science and academia.  Picture a Scientist follows three researchers, biologist Nancy Hopkins, chemist Raychelle Burks, and geologist Jane Willenbring, exploring their experiences in the sciences that range from brutal harassment to years of subtle slights.

If you haven't seen this film, we encourage you to check out the film website and the film trailer to learn more!

Following our virtual screening, on January 22nd, 2021 @1pm,  we held a panel discussion to delve into questions about the challenges that women face in science today, particularly in our own academic communities at MIT. Our five panelists are brilliant researchers who, among other numerous accomplishments, have all contributed to writing reports that document the inequities of women at MIT. The panel discussion was moderated by Nadia Figueroa, Ph.D. (Treasurer and CDD Co-Chair of RPA^3) and Camille Bilodeau, Ph.D. (MIT PDA Advocacy Committee Chair). Event logistics and planning by moderators and Javier Stober, Ph.D. (CDD Co-Chair of RPA^3). 

Following a debrief of the event registrations and attendance: 

  • Event Registrations: 673
  • Film Viewership: 648 views from 475 unique viewers 
  • Panel Viewership: 252 attendees, 217 unique attendees, 203 peak concurrent attendees
  • Panel Viewership demographics: 
    • Majority from MIT, also reached Harvard, Northeastern, Brown, Princeton, CMU, UMich. McGill, UCSF, RT-Aachen
    • Majority from USA, but also reached UK, Germany, Austria, Greece, Mexico, Poland, Singapour, France, Spain, Turkey, Puerto Rico 

A post-event feedback survey was conducted and we received overwhelmingly positive feedback:

“very impactful”, “awesome event”, “interesting, inspiring, well-organized”, ‘’great work”.

A full post-event debrief and survey report can be found here, with summary slides available here.  

* This event was jointly organized and sponsored by the CPGSC (MIT CSAIL Postdoc and Graduate Student Council), the MIT PDA-DEI (MIT Postdoctoral Associate DE&I Committee), and the RPA^3 (Researchers and PostDocs Association of the AeroAstro Department)