I recently moved back into academia. An internal equipment funding call, and all of the University’s calls, required at least a 40% gender balance. As a new f

I recently moved back into academia. An internal equipment funding call, and all of the University’s calls, required at least a 40% gender balance. As a new faculty member I had to scramble to find researchers in other departments with similar interests to mine and to join up with on a proposal. I had to trawl through their websites to specifically find women and it felt like stalking and it made me uncomfortable. Emailing these women felt creepy and selfish. However I want to work with anyone I can. Were it not for this specific requirement I would happily had taken the time to contact people and get to know others organically. Ultimately it’s nothing compared to the despondency you describe and I did get in touch with some great people that I hope to work with in the future. Perhaps this experience was necessary if jarring. I cannot offer you anything other than good intentions. I’m an engineer and I work with fluid mechanics. I want to work with the people who do the actual work, not the parasites who do all the talking.