Of course, these tasks are also vital to diversifying a department. Women are much less likely to apply to top graduate programs. And there's no way to get around the fact that women can get sidetracked by childbearing, which is a hard decision. Still, she says, she' s encouraged to see the numbers of women in science creeping up. It's a huge difference for a young woman, having a female professor.
Men get that affirmation all the time.
Which is not to say it's easy. Brainerd's own day generally begins at four a.m., when she rises to do some writing in her home office. She's on campus by ten to meet students and colleagues, teach, and conduct research. The day's work seldom ends before seven in the evening. One exercise she sets for her students is designing imaginary animals and creating their physiological systems.