Breaking down barriers: The identification of actions to promote gender equality in interdisciplinary marine research institutions

Gender equality is a fundamental human right, and it is essential for addressing ocean sustainability challenges in the 21st century. Interdisciplinarity is also critical to navigating these challenges, and evidence has shown that women leaders can increase the success of interdisciplinary marine research. However, men are more likely to be in positions of leadership within marine research institutions, indicating that the system has not been designed to adequately support women scientists. Furthermore, interdisciplinarity can present unique and additional challenges to women scientists and may exacerbate the existing gender-specific issues experienced in marine research. We show that women face the challenges of working in academia but also experience additional challenges due to their gender. This is particularly the case for women who belong to minoritized and disadvantaged groups (e.g., due to their ethnicity or nationality). It is important to highlight the challenges that women leaders face. This research has implications for academic marine research institutions and the science community.

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