Sci-comm “behind the scenes”: Gendered narratives of scientific outreach activities in the life sciences

Science communication, orsci-comm, is a broad term describing activities seeking to increase scientific literacy. Sci-comm has a positive impact on perceptions of science, public policy, public scientific literacy, and career choices of future scientists. Yet, sci-comm is often viewed as at odds with, or tangential, to academic achievement, as non-scientific, or as less worthy a time commitment compared to internal communication in academia. In Australia, scientific societies and organisations engage in a range of activities underpinned by communal, or so-called “behind-the-scenes”, sci-comm work by individuals done almost exclusively on a voluntary basis. Given an apparent undervaluing of sci-comm work in academia, we established a pilot study to investigate who does this work, in what capacity, and why. A semi-structured online survey was administered to 88 Australian life sciences organisations for dissemination to their members, and 49 responses were received. Respondents were mostly women in early-career researcher positions at universities. Participants almost universally agreed that their sci-comm contributions to organisations were not beneficial to career progression. Some participants suggested that this perception might stem from it being perceived as feminised or categorised as “care work”, potentially resulting in its undervaluation. However, most also cited a range of personal and professional benefits gained from the work, including giving back to the general public and scientific community, and developing skills relevant to translating scientific research. The majority of survey respondents indicated that they were likely to continue such work in the future. Gaining a deeper understanding of the motivations behind, and perceptions of, behind-the-scenes sci-comm work will aid in overcoming barriers that disproportionately affect women, and promote better acknowledgement and recognition of their contributions in the future.