Women in STEM Focus 2020

This collection examines gender bias in scientific research and the challenges faced, and accomplishments gained, by women in the field of science and coincides with International Women’s Day. In this focus, Yale Professor and Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator Akiko Iwasaki describes her current research and past experiences, including the day she nearly quit science to care for her daughter; JEM Academic Editors Anne O’Garra, Yasmine Belkaid, Arlene Sharpe, Susan Kaech, Sara Cherry, and Emmanuelle Passegué share their personal journeys and describe the many hurdles on the way to achieving professional success; and the JEM Editorial team performs a gender analysis of papers submitted to JEM in 2018 and describes strategies in place to address gender bias. While the conversation on gender disparity in scientific publishing continues, it is clear that more needs to be done.