In this podcast we are discussing gender discrimination and the issues that researchers face, and how to raise what we know is a very challenging issue to talk when researchers face concerns about upsetting current or previous institutes that have employed them.

We want to openly acknowledge the hurdles that need to be overcome in the pursuit of gender equality as well as the steps that institutions are putting in place to tackle this issue.

We also looking at specific issues around paternal leave and being a parent in research and how this is a gendered issue. Understanding that women are conventionally viewed as the default primary care giver, and does this mean women can be seen as a 'poor investment' as an employee as they might take up to a year of leave, if they do are they perceived as being less committed to the field?

In the chair we have Dr Aoife Kiely, Research Officer at Alzheimer’s Society and she is joined by:

Dr Natalie Marchant – Natalie is an Alzheimer’s Society funded senior fellow based at UCL. Her research focuses on whether repetitive negative thinking increases cognitive debt and so, the risk of dementia. She is a mother of one and has recently returned to work following maternity leave

Dr Frances Wiseman – Frances is a senior research fellow based at UCL. She holds an Alzheimer’s Society grant which funds a PhD student and is investigating the cause of Alzheimer’s disease in people who have Down syndrome. She is mum of two and married to a fellow academic.

Dr Penny Rapaport - Penny is a clinical psychologist having worked clinically for a number of years with people with dementia in community, hospital and care home settings. Now working in applied health research developing interventions that are fit for purpose in the messy real world.