WoMen in Science

Power relations and awareness of culture in academia

Socially speaking, science and technology follow a certain (product) code. Accordingly, each system develops its own cultural patterns over time: power relations, responsibilities, structures, decision-making and leadership cultures.

The talk of organizational consultant Maria Spindler will focus on power relations and awareness of cultures as indicators of how we perceive differences (ethnicity, gender, age, majorities, minorities, expertise, responsibilities, etc.). She will highlight how different states of awareness correlate with different leadership cultures and power relations.

The talk, followed by a discussion, will address the following:

• What code do science and technology follow and with what implications?
• Which perception is associated with which leadership culture and power relations?
• How can established and dysfunctional cultures and power relations be transformed?
• How can a system increase participation and change power relations to promote diversity and interdisciplinarity?
• What levers can be helpful and functional at the individual, collaborative, and system levels?
• How can intentional leadership cultures be created that embrace differences such as age, ethnicity, gender, degrees, and levels of leadership?