Computational Systems Neuroscience (COSYNE) 2017

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Computational and Systems Neuroscience 2017

Organizers: Anne Churchland, Tony Zador, Alex Pouget and Zach Mainen
Program Chairs: Ilana Witten and Eric Shea-Brown
Invited speaker gender ratio: 7 Women : 7 Men (50%)
Estimated* base rate of females in the field: 17-18%

As COSYNE initiated some of the wider efforts to correctly represent women in neuroscience conferences, indirectly leading to the creation of BiasWatchNeuro, we are especially happy to report that for the first time this conference has achieved gender parity, exceeding the base rate of women in the field and matching the base rate of women in the world.

*Method of estimation: Base rate of women in computational neuroscience previously established through attendance at COSYNE conferences

Human Brain Project Satellite Symposium to SfN 2016: Collaborative Neuroscience and Enabling Infrastructure

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Human Brain Project Satellite Symposium to SfN 2016: Collaborative Neuroscience and Enabling Infrastructure

Organizers: Marc-Oliver Gewaltig, Eilif Muller, Jeff Muller, David Lester and Andrew Davison
Invited speaker gender ratio: 2 Women : 6 Men (25%)
Estimated* base rate of females in the field: 24%

*Method of estimation: since the “symposium brings together researchers and engineers from the Human Brain Project (HBP) with the larger neuroscience community to discuss
how the HBP Platforms can catalyze collaborative neuroscience research by the community, and highlight selected complementary initiatives to explore synergies” we used the previously established base rate of women in neuroscience.

ICAP2017: 5th International Conference on Analytical Proteomics

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5th International Conference on Analytical Proteomics

Organizers: Carlos Lodeiro Espiño and José Luís Capelo Martínez
Total speaker gender ratio: 2 Women : 14 Men (13%)
Plenary speaker gender ratio: 0 Women : 8 Men (0%)
Keynote speaker gender ratio: 2 Women : 6 Men (25%)
Estimated* base rate of females in the field: 17%

*Method of estimation: we searched NIH RePORTER with keywords “analytical” AND “proteomics” and counted the number of women among the unique researchers in pages 2, 5 and 8 of the 9 pages of results.

Information, Control, and Learning

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Information, Control, and Learning: The Ingredients of Intelligent Behavior

Organizers: Naftali Tishby, Yair Weiss and Israel Nelken
Invited speaker gender ratio: 4 Women : 18 Men (18%)
Estimated* base rate of females in the field: 46%

*Method of estimation: we searched NIH RePORTER with keywords “information” AND “control” AND “learning” AND “behavior” and counted the number of women among the unique researchers in pages 5, 10 and 15 of the 17 pages of results.

Frontiers in Addiction Research

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NIDA-NIAAA Mini Convention: Frontiers in Addiction Research

Organizers: ??
Invited speaker gender ratio: 10 Women : 6 Men (62.5%)
(of these: 5 women and 5 men giving full-length presentations, 5 women and 1 man giving short spotlight presentations)
Estimated* base rate of females in the field: 44%

*Method of estimation: Since the overall theme of the meeting is “relapse and recovery”, we searched NIH RePORTER for grants from NIDA and NIAAA only with keywords “relapse” OR “recovery” and counted the number of women among the unique researchers in pages 5,15,25, and 35 of the 37 pages of results.

9th Australasian Workshop on Neuro-Engineering and Computational Neuroscience

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9th Australasian Workshop on Neuro-Engineering and Computational Neuroscience

Organizers: Leonardo L Gollo, James Roberts, Vinh Nguyen, Michael Breakspear
Sponsored by: QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute & Australian Research Council Centre for Excellence for Integrative Brain Function
Keynote speakers gender ratio: 1 Woman : 2 Men (33.3%)
(Invited speakers: TBD)
Estimated* base rate of females in the field: 17-18%

*Method of estimation: Previously established base rate for women in computational neuroscience.

Persistent Maladaptive Behaviors: Why We Make Bad Choices

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Persistent Maladaptive Behaviors: Why We Make Bad Choices

Organizers: Suzanne Haber and John Foxe
Sponsored by: The University of Rochester School of Medicine, the Ernest J. Del Monte Institute for Neuroscience, and the Silvio O. Conte Center
Invited speaker gender ratio: 8 Women : 17 Men (32%)
Estimated* base rate of females in the field: 45%

*Method of estimation: NIH RePORTER search with keywords “maladaptive” and (“decision making” or “choices”), count the number of women among the 38 unique results.

New Challenges in Neural Computation 2016

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New Challenges in Neural Computation 2016

Organizers: Barbara Hammer, Thomas Martinetz and Thomas Villmann
Sponsored by: European Neural Networks Society and by the CITEC centre of excellence
Invited speaker gender ratio: 0 Women : 2 Men (0%)
Estimated* base rate of females in the field: 17-18%

Although there are only two invited speakers, over the years of the conference not a single woman was ever an invited speaker (11 invited speakers so far). This calculator suggests that in a field with 17% women, the chance of a sample of 11 not including a single woman is 13%, while the likelihood of over-representing women in an unbiased sample is 58%.

*Method of estimation: Previously established base rate for women in computational neuroscience.