UW to host first feminist biology post-doc program in nation

Promoting research using a feminist lens to approach biology, University of Wisconsin will be home to the nations first post-doctorate program in feminist biology this fall after a donation.

Approaching science with a feminist viewpoint is important because there are certain assumptions about men, women, objectivity and knowledge that influence how science is often done, associate professor at the Center of Womens Health and Womens Health Research, Judith Houck, said. Looking at science through a feminist lens allows old questions to be observed in new ways, she said.

Feminist biology attempts to pinpoint and adjust gender bias in biology.

UW was granted the opportunity by Gertraude Wittig, a German Ph.D. biologist in the 1950s,Janet Hyde, professor of psychology and director of the Campus Center for Research on Gender and Women, said. Wittig suffered through bias and sexism that many women faced during that time frame, she said.

After working for the U.S. Department of Agriculture for several years, Wittig researched universities nationwide with strong gender and womens studies programs to find one she believed had a strong emphasis on the intersection of gender and science, Hyde said.

She concluded that ours was the best one to give the money to partly because we have a long history of representing biological research in our program, which is unusual for womens studies programs, Hyde said.

Hyde said they hope to make advances in approaches to science that detect gender bias in traditional biology and also pioneer new approaches to biological research that counteract those biases.

Houck said the department has a strong history of feminist analysis of science and biology and health. The post-doc is important for the department to continue its strong, innovative legacy, she said.

For the larger university, what this does is sends a message to the academic community that UW-Madison cares about feminist science, theyre willing to promote feminist science and we want to be known as a university that supports and nurtures feminist science, Houck said.

Caroline VanSickle, a Ph.D. student studying biological anthropology at the University of Michigan, will be the first post-doctoral fellow in the program, according to a statement from UW. When she begins the two-year fellowship in September, she will study the pelvic shape of female human ancestors to gain insight on childbirth anatomy over the course of human evolution, the statement said.

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UW to host first feminist biology post-doc program in nation