Gender Equality in the Lab: A fireside chat
In this Fireside Chat, Dr Adriana Wilde (ACM-W Communications Co-chair) talks with Dr Javier Bustos-Jiménez (Head of NIC Labs in Chile), about experiences in building inclusive research environments.
Building Inclusive Research Environments at NIC Labs
NIC Labs is the R&D department of NIC Chile, a centre at the University of Chile that manages the Internet .cl domain. It was founded on June 1, 2007, by José Miguel Piquer, then a director of NIC Chile and a professor in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Chile. Its original mission was:
“…to develop international-level research, generating new knowledge in the field of IP networks, always seeking to transfer its results to NIC Chile and the national and regional community.” [1]
Today, its research areas have expanded to the analysis and evaluation of Internet protocols, the study of their security and privacy and the analysis of their feasibility in a future spatial Internet. At the time of writing, NIC Labs employs 27 people (14 women and 13 men).
Gender Parity: A Deliberate Journey
Adriana: Javier, it’s a pleasure to be in touch again! You have been a keen supporter of ACM-W womENcourage™, first as an active reviewer for poster abstracts in 2018 (as the poster chair that year, I’m still grateful for your engagement then) and for bringing with you other members of your team to take part in the celebrations. You also gave a talk titled “Hello from the other side: Reflections from a 50/50 Systems & Networks Lab.” What made you want to share that story at womENcourage?
Javier: At that time, I realised we had something unusual. In a computer systems and networks lab, people expect to see mostly men. However, at NIC Labs, we achieved gender parity that year (and we have sustained this over many years now). It wasn’t something we achieved overnight; it came from deliberate small actions in leadership with a gender-balanced focus: role models, mentorship, transparent interviews, and a culture where women felt they belonged. I wanted to tell that story so others could see it is possible. I especially wanted to reach mid- and late-career researchers in leadership positions who want to improve their environments in all dimensions: a better place to work, improved research and development performance, and other aspects.
Adriana: One of your slides reads, “The Best place to work? The one with gender equality.” How do you connect gender balance with workplace quality?
Javier: When people feel welcome, respected, and safe, they thrive. To achieve gender balance, you don’t start with the numbers but with the atmosphere. In NIC Labs, we had clear policies, including one of zero tolerance for harassment and discrimination. That meant everyone could focus on research and learning. So yes, gender equality and being the “best place to work” are deeply connected. But this is our experience “from the other side”, as unfortunately, the norm in STEM-based workplaces is that a given gender predominates, and it has been documented that, in time, these places often become toxic for the underrepresented gender. In addition, there is also the imposter syndrome (which is sadly more common amongst women), and it is necessary to seek ways to reduce the bias that it is associated with, at risk of missing out on great talent. Good students (and researchers) will always want to learn more from (and work alongside) brilliant minds; however, if we only have “half the world”, we will only achieve half as good a job.
Tackling Bias in Recruitment
Adriana: I noticed you highlighted interviews and how they were structured. Why was that important?
Javier: This was our response to the challenge we were just talking about, addressing the impostor syndrome. We got the idea from a well-known practice in auditions for orchestra recruitment [2], where applicants audition behind an opaque screen so that they are judged merely on their ability, because we also wanted it to make the process as fair as possible. That meant designing structured interview questions at different levels (basic, medium, and advanced), which needed to be answered within a limited timeframe. This was the closest to making them “screened” in our context, as in STEM, we really care about problem-solving skills (caring more about the process rather than the output), and making the process transparent. Everyone knew what the expectations were. This removed some of the unconscious biases that often creep into selection. Candidates were then evaluated for their potential and demonstrated skills, not their gender.
The Power of Role Models and Policies
Adriana: Another big part of your talk was role models. You even highlighted individuals from your lab and the importance of visibility. Why did you focus on this?
Javier: It is always important to have a role model, someone that I say, “wow, she is brilliant, I want to be like her.” Students and young researchers need someone they can relate to, because of their gender or background. At least that was a need we identified in our lab, and was a role that Dr Sandra Céspedes (now an assistant professor at Concordia University, Canada) accomplished exceedingly well.
Adriana: You also made the case for having a policy against hostility. Why was that explicit step necessary?
Javier: Of course, making the policy explicit has two facets: on one hand, we are telling the bullies, “This is not a place for you”, and on the other, we are telling our people, “We are making our best effort to give you the safest place to work we can.” It is necessary to do so to make our environments feel safe and be safe.
Lessons for the Research Community
Adriana: Looking back, what do you think the wider research community can learn from NIC Labs’ experience? Any tips?
Javier: I think my best tip has already been said: in a world where talent is equally distributed, providing the space for only half the world will only achieve half as good a job. There is a well-known saying that goes “pressure makes diamonds”, however it is not pressure that makes this miracle happen. It’s having the right environment. Similarly, we cannot make our researchers shine without providing the correct environment for them to thrive. It is our work as PIs or senior researchers to guide and nurture the gems we recruit so that they can turn into the most valuable diamonds.
Adriana: And what has happened since? Has NIClabs maintained the balance?
Javier: Yes! Well, in fact, no, we were even 60%(women)-40%(men) for a while but now we are returning to 50-50.
Adriana: Javier, thank you for sharing these reflections again. It’s inspiring to see how one lab’s commitment to equality can ripple outward into the broader community.
To our readers: If you want to explore more about advancing gender equality in computing, visit ACM-W.