Leaky pipeline, unconscious bias, parental leave in academia… I am interested in the equal representation and well-being of both genders in science. I am very happy to have contributed to two publications highlighting some aspects of working as a woman in science:

• In a recent issue of Evolutionary Applications, we present a fascinating study system of local adaptation in vertebrates – the long-term research project on Mediterranean blue tits. Written by a team of women for a special issue on “Women’s contribution to basic and applied evolutionary biology”, we also highlight some reflections on how we combined field work, parental leave and family life from a scientist – parent point of view.

• An empirical study written by Schroeder, J. et al. (2013) in the Journal of Evolutionary Biology (“Fewer invited talks by women in evolutionary biology symposia“) reveals how high quality science by women has lower exposure at international meetings because women turn invitations down more often than men, thereby constraining evolutionary biology research from reaching its full potential (This paper was widely discussed online, including by Science, The Telegraph, The Times, and Athene Donald’s blog).