Since 1995, U.S. presidents have issued a series of annual proclamations designating the month of March as Women’s History Month.
These proclamations celebrate the contributions that women have made to the U.S. and recognize the achievements that women have accomplished over the course of American history in a variety of fields.
In addition, marked annually on March 8th, International Women’s Day is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women.
As part of Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day celebrations, the New York Genome Center (NYGC) honors the many women scientists and staff at the NYGC who continue to advance genomic science. Please learn more about some of their stories below. Additionally, here’s a look back at other NYGC members reflecting on Women’s History Month in 2023 and 2021.
Anoushka Joglekar
Postdoctoral Research Associate, Gürsoy Lab
Tell us about your current role at the NYGC.
I am doing my postdoctoral research in the Gürsoy lab, where I study how the 3-dimensional architecture of chromatin varies in different cellular contexts. So far, I have been developing computational methods to identify differential multiway interactions in chromatin data and their relation to splicing. For this, I have been using data generated by the Pore-C assay developed by the Imieliński lab, but I soon hope to generate some new data using novel chromatin conformation capture assays.
What, if any, barriers or challenges have you faced as a woman in your career? How have you overcome them? Do you see examples of progress?
Throughout my scientific career, I have had advisors who fostered an environment of inclusivity, and I never felt discriminated against. In fact, I was quite protected from the barriers facing women until I started graduate school, and so in that regard, I have been very fortunate. However, as soon as I stepped outside the classroom, I started to experience microaggressions. These were mostly offhand joking comments about being the token woman in a male dominated computational field, but they did nothing to help my imposter syndrome at the time. I also experienced instances where men did not bother to know my name or affiliation but tried to explain my own findings to me, which honestly was more amusing than anything else and makes for a good story. Sometimes, the challenges faced by women are not specific events but a result of social conditioning. I often found myself volunteering to do administrative and organizational tasks as the woman in a group and had to remind myself to step back or delegate whenever possible.
I am not unique in having faced these issues, and women have been persevering in the face of much bigger hurdles for centuries. The only way to overcome them in cases of targeted comments is to call out the culpable parties and make it known that their words can be perceived in a different way than intended. However, we are making progress as academics and the younger generation of PIs are conscious of these issues. I am extremely fortunate to have Gamze as my advisor because she is a staunch advocate of women’s equality and is intolerant of discriminatory behavior. I think that as long as we continue and grow the ranks of strong young women in academia, we can move towards the goal of achieving true equality for all genders.
What does Women’s History Month mean to you?
It is an opportunity to take stock of the current state of the world – it’s important to acknowledge how far we have come as a society while also pondering ways forward to achieve gender equality. We live in an academic bubble and are oblivious to the levels of equality in other fields and distant parts of the world. So, I usually like to use this time to educate myself, either to uncover stories of women pioneers who have made scientific, social, or artistic breakthroughs, or keep abreast of global trends.
What advice would you give to your younger self?
Don’t forget to take the long view on situations – nothing is burning, and it is more important to spend time doing things that make you happy than trying to meet deadlines. Things fall apart, especially in science, but as long as you have people in your corner, it’s easy to piece them back together.
Heather Lewis
Director, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion and Research Initiatives
Tell us about your current role at the NYGC.
I am NYGC’s inaugural Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and Research Initiatives. I’m responsible for advancing the Center’s DEI strategic goals. I enjoy working with DEIAG, various groups, and departments across the Center to support DEI, identify barriers to DEI, and create educational and systematic improvements to ensure a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive Center.
What, if any, barriers or challenges have you faced as a woman in your career? How have you overcome them? Do you see examples of progress?
While we are improving women’s representation in leadership, my experiences intersect with being a woman and being Black. As a Black woman, one of the challenges that I’ve faced and continue to face is being the “only one” in the room. It comes with the burden of feeling like I am the representative and that my successes and failures will reflect on people like me. It can feel isolating and comes with increased pressure to “get it right.” I overcome these challenges by consistently reminding myself I am qualified to be in the room.
Outside of work, I’ve also cultivated a supportive network of women, and we have a monthly safe space meeting where we celebrate each other. This is an excellent reminder that I am not alone. It also gives me the confidence to continue going, and I use this as a push to look out for the next person and be supportive at all times.
What does Women’s History Month mean to you?
Women’s History Month means celebrating the achievements of women who have been pioneers throughout history and those who advocate for social justice and equality for women. Not only is it a celebration of how far we have come as women, but it is also a reminder that the journey is not over. I long for the day when we are no longer surprised and pleased to hear of the “first woman” in any given role.
What advice would you give to your younger self?
A former colleague, a much older woman who later became a good friend, would tell me that I am her shero. I would laugh it off because surely I should be the one looking up to her. So, when I think of the younger me, I would tell my younger self never to back down and to keep fighting. Keep fighting to be in the room, keep fighting to be heard, keep fighting to be seen; your daughters are looking, and other women are looking to you for encouragement, strength, and support.
Elizabeth O’Brien
Vice President & General Counsel
Tell us about your current role at the NYGC.
In my role as General Counsel, I am responsible for providing legal guidance to NYGC on a wide range of topics, including corporate governance, research compliance, faculty affairs, employment and immigration, tax-exempt status, and grants and contracts. No day is the same, which for me is one of the great benefits of my role. I love the variety of my work and the opportunity it gives me to engage with staff across the organization. I also value the exposure the role gives me (as a non-scientist) to cutting-edge science and to the behind-the-scenes activities and resources needed to support this science. As a member of the senior team at NYGC, I participate in setting annual and long-term goals for the organization and in our efforts to chart a course for the Center that is mission-aligned, impactful, and sustainable. It’s an incredibly rich and challenging set of responsibilities!
What, if any, barriers or challenges have you faced as a woman in your career? How have you overcome them? Do you see examples of progress?
Law is a traditionally male-dominated field, and in many sectors of the profession, it remains so. Women now graduate from law schools in equal numbers to men, but women partners continue to be outnumbered by male partners in most law firms, and very few major law firms are headed by women. I joined a large firm after finishing law school and received terrific training there. However, the hours were punishing, and after four years, I realized I couldn’t balance the demands of my job AND be a good parent. Tellingly, virtually every other woman who joined the firm in my year eventually made the same decision. I was incredibly fortunate to find a position in a university legal office where my work was challenging and fulfilling, but the pace more reasonable. Even there, however, achieving a satisfactory work/family balance wasn’t always easy: flexible work arrangements were uncommon, maternity leave benefits were skimpy, and finding quality, affordable childcare was a huge issue. While I do see examples of progress in some of these areas, successfully navigating parenting and work remains incredibly challenging and stressful for the working mothers who I know–especially given the high cost and limited availability of good childcare.
What does Women’s History Month mean to you?
Women’s History Month honors the struggles and strength of women who worked for equal opportunity for other women–for recognition of our talents and contributions as thinkers and doers. This month also should inspire us all to follow their example: there’s much more to be accomplished.
What advice would you give to your younger self?
Be kind, open-minded, brave, honest, keep a sense of humor!
Tracy Smith
Program Director, Education & Outreach, Satija Lab
Tell us about your current role at the NYGC.
As the Program Director, Education & Outreach for the Center for Integrated Cellular Analysis, an NIH-funded Center of Excellence in Genomic Science (CEGS), I oversee the development and implementation of diverse education and outreach initiatives to disseminate research advances from NYGC and other institutions to the community. I also direct an internship program for junior scientists aimed at increasing opportunities in genomic research for underrepresented minority groups. I regularly interact with members of the NYGC community at all career levels and across labs and departments, as well as with member labs at NYU, MSKCC, Rockefeller, Columbia, and Weill Cornell.
What, if any, barriers or challenges have you faced as a woman in your career? How have you overcome them? Do you see examples of progress?
I find this question difficult to answer, in part because I was taught to ignore challenges I faced as a woman, to dismiss them away as part of the status quo. Upon reflection, I’m reminded of the very first times I noticed a disparity in how girls and boys were treated. In my elementary school, the boys were always “the smartest.” Try as I might, I could be the smartest girl in the class but never the smartest child. As my career developed, I gravitated towards strong women role models and have immersed myself in environments that support women. These have tended to be women-led groups, but not always. I have found that in the last five years or so, there is a greater push for equity in speaker line ups for conferences, in lab member balance, and other environments in the sciences. It is all a move in the right direction and I do think that over time we’ll see more and more progress in removing barriers of success for women.
What does Women’s History Month mean to you?
What advice would you give to your younger self?
The advice I’d give to my younger self is to repeat the advice my grandmother (a truly incredible woman who not only taught me to read at age three but also how to tell the difference between a frog and a toad) gave me when I was seven years old and we were discussing the (im)possibility of a woman POTUS: “You can be anything you want to be, regardless of being a girl or a boy. You can be anything you can imagine.”
