倡導實驗室應該「性別隔離」諾貝爾獎得主遭痛批、辭教職
莊崇暉 2015年06月13日
2001年諾貝爾生理學或醫學獎得主、倫敦大學學院（UCL）榮譽教授杭特（Tim Hunt）最近禍從口出，竟然指稱女性在實驗室只會製造麻煩，因此他提倡實驗室應該「性別隔離」（gender segregation），荒謬言論一出，各方撻伐不斷。杭特10日被迫向倫敦大學學院請辭獲准。
女性在實驗室只會談戀愛、惹麻煩？
現年72歲的杭特是生物化學家，因發現控制調節細胞周期的細胞蛋白，獲2001年諾貝爾生理學或醫學獎，目前也是英國皇家學會（Royal Society）成員。
9日，杭特在南韓首爾參加全球科學記者大會（World Conference of Science Journalists）時說：「實驗室雇用女孩有三個麻煩：你會愛上她們，她們會愛上你，以及你批評她們時她們會哭。」杭特甚至坦承自己是沙文主義者，支持實驗室應該只有單一性別，男性女性分開做研究。
實驗室也要男女有別？
當時與會者、倫敦城市大學（City University, London）科學新聞計畫主持人聖路易絲（Connie St. Louis）將杭特發言放上推特。她表示：「不可置信，這位諾貝爾得主認為我們還活在維多利亞時代（Victoria times）嗎？」
皇家學會也畫清界線，在推特上發文表示：「杭特言論不代表本會觀點」，後來更發表官方聲明：「我們相信為了落實每件事，科學家需為全人類盡最好的研究能力。太多有才華的獨立研究員沒有發揮科學潛力，都是因為像是性別議題爭議。皇家學會一直致力於推動相關權利發展。」
杭特：是幽默也是實話
英國廣播公司（BBC）節目10日報導，杭特表示自己只是幽默，對任何冒犯他人的言論表示歉意，但仍堅稱自己說的是實話。但倫敦大學學院藥理系退休教授克庫浩（David Colquhoun）表示，杭特發言是促進女性進步的災難。
倫敦大學學院網站聲明指出，由於這起不當發言爭議，杭特已經於10日請辭生命科學系榮譽教授一職。倫敦大學學院也指出，該校是英格蘭第一所承認女男平權的大學，這個結果符合倫敦大學學院推動性別平權的承諾。
理工領域女性還是太少
儘管多數教育已倡議性別平權，女性在科學、工程、科技領域的專業人才數量仍相當少。根據科學女性推動組織WISE統計，英國科學工程相關職業（science, technology, engineering and math，STEM）中，女性人數只佔了13％。學術界比例一樣懸殊，4個領域的全職教授，84%都是男性。
英國新聞網站《威爾斯線上》（WalesOnline）編輯古德（Ceri Gould）對此為文〈為什麼杭特教授錯了〉批評：「杭特教授的玩笑當然不是世上最糟的罪行，但也並非無害的愚蠢玩笑。女人無法從事真正的科學工作是因為不能接受批評？這真是落伍和不公平的說詞。」
對於杭特堅稱自己發言屬實，古德提出挑戰和質疑，她說，宣揚女性在實驗室只會談戀愛而不會做事，這樣的觀點並不符合事實，女人會傷害科學的想法更令人反感，尤其杭特教授在科學界擁有很大的影響力，「他的觀點可能潛在影響我的兒子得以找到搶手的實驗室工作，而我的女兒卻沒辦法。」
'Just look at that monstrous seductress Marie Curie ruining everything': Nobel prize winner is mocked online for saying women should be banned from male labs
- Sr Tim Hunt said women either 'fall in love with you' or cry when criticised
- Remarks made at World Conference of Science Journalists in South Korea
- He today apologised for comments, saying he did not mean any offence
- The Royal Society, of which Sir Tim is a fellow, distanced themselves from remarks
PUBLISHED: 00:54 GMT, 10 June 2015 | UPDATED: 17:02 GMT, 10 June 2015
A Nobel prize-winning scientist has defended his comments which suggested 'distracting' women should be banned from laboratories, saying: 'I just meant to be honest'.
British Nobel laureate Sir Tim Hunt told a conference that female colleagues should work in women-only environments because they either 'fall in love with you' or cry when they are criticised.
The 72-year-old, who won the 2001 Nobel Prize in medicine, reportedly told the World Conference of Science Journalists in South Korea: 'Let me tell you about my trouble with girls.
'Three things happen when they are in the lab: you fall in love with them, they fall in love with you, and when you criticise them they cry.'
British Nobel laureate Sir Tim Hunt told a conference that female colleagues cry when criticised and 'fall in love with you'
His remarks were reported online by Connie St Louis, a science journalism lecturer at City University, London
In the lecture in which he promoted the benefit of single-sex research laboratories, he also admitted to his audience of female scientists that he was a 'chauvinist pig'.
Today, following a huge backlash online, Sir Tim - who is married to a female science professor - apologised for his comments, insisting the remarks were 'light-hearted' and 'ironic'.
But he admitted that he 'did mean the part about having trouble with girls' and had just wanted to be 'honest' because it was important for all those in lab to be on a 'level playing field'.
It came after The Royal Society, of which Sir Tim is a fellow, has already distanced itself from the remarks, tweeting: 'Tim Hunt’s comments don’t reflect our views.'
The revered scientist told the BBC: 'I have fallen in love with people in the lab and people in the lab have fallen in love with me and it's very disruptive to the science because it's terribly important that in a lab people are on a level playing field.
'It's terribly important that you can criticise people's ideas without criticising them and if they burst into tears, it means that you tend to hold back from getting at the absolute truth.
'Science is about nothing but getting at the truth and anything that gets in the way of that diminishes, in my experience, the science.'
He added: 'What was intended as a light-hearted, ironic comment apparently was interpreted deadly seriously by my audience.
'I'm really, really sorry I caused any offence, that's awful. I just meant to be honest, actually.'
Science careers are still vastly dominated by men, with only 13 per cent of workers being women. The gap is also significant in academia, where 84 per cent of full-time professors working in science, engineering and technology are men.
The Royal Society, of which Sir Tim is a fellow, distanced themselves from his remarks last night.
A statement read: 'The Royal Society believes that in order to achieve everything that it can, science needs to make the best use of the research capabilities of the entire population.
'Too many talented individuals do not fulfil their scientific potential because of issues such as gender and the Society is committed to helping to put this right.
'Sir Tim Hunt was speaking as an individual and his reported comments in no way reflect the views of the Royal Society.'
Sir Tim is married to Mary Collins, a professor of immunology at University College London
His remarks were reported online by Connie St Louis, a science journalism lecturer at City University, London.
She commented: 'Really, does this Nobel laureate think we are still in Victorian times?'
Addressing the Royal Society, she wrote: 'A female president of the Royal Society would go a long way to illustrate and underscore your commitment to a 'diverse science workforce'.
'There are many women scientists who could do the job and then perhaps Fellows like Tim Hunt would take this matter more seriously.'
She also told Radio 4's Today programme that the experience was 'awful'.
She said: 'After he had finished, there was this deathly silence.
'A lot of my colleagues sat down and were taking notes because they couldn't believe in this day and age that somebody would be prepared to stand up and be so crass, so rude in a different culture and actually to be so openly sexist as well.
'It wasn't funny. It's so simplistic that it hardly bears thinking about.'
After her tweets, critics lambasted the scientist on Twitter, describing him as 'chauvanist', 'sexist' and 'an unpleasant dolt'.
Mathew Lyons wrote: 'Tim Hunt's comments on women in science are a perfect example of how someone can be both brilliant and thick as mince at the same time.'
While Lucy Inglis tweeted: 'Tim Hunt, there. Proving there's no upper IQ limit to being an unpleasant dolt.'
Dr Huxtable also wrote: 'Ah, the laydeez- disrupting all that manly science with their alluring girlish ways and talk of kittens, eh Tim Hunt?'
While Sara May wrote: 'Nothing says has a long way to go like Tim Hunt's comments to a room full of top female Korean scientists.'
And Rupert Myers derided Sir Tim's comments, tweeting: 'Just imagining Tim Hunt spending his career fending off legions of female admirers swooning over his sexist views. Probably needs a stick.'
Another mocked the scientist, saying: 'Just look at that monstrous seductress Marie Curie ruining everything for Pierre. Oh wait.' The couple worked together to be jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in Physics.
Prominent scientists also spoke out against the comments.
Neuroscientist Uta Frith described the remarks as a Watson moment, referring to Novel Prize winner James Watson's comments on the supposed intellectual inferiority of black people.
'We're all upset by Tim Hunt's chauvinist remarks,' she tweeted.
The Royal Society, which has its headquarters in Carlton House Terrace in London (pictured), has distanced itself from Sir Tim's remarks
Professor Sophie Scott, who teaches at the same university as Sir Tim's wife, tweeted: 'I am in the office, but I can't do my science work as I saw a photograph of #TimHunt and now I'm in love, dammit.'
And David Colquhoun, emeritus professor of pharmacology at University College London, said Hunt’s comments were a 'disaster for the advancement of women'.
Meanwhile, Dr Jennifer Rohn, a cell biologist at University College London, told the BBC that Sir Tim had 'some sort of responsibility as a role model and as an ambassador for the profession'.
She said: 'Things like that are going to be taken to heart by some young female scientists and I think that is a real shame because we still have a very long way to go to get equality in the sciences.'
Dr Rohn said she had shared platforms with Sir Tim's wife Mary Collins and added: 'I'm sure she doesn't approve of these comments. They must have been intended as a joke but that's no excuse.'
Really, does this Nobel laureate think we are still in Victorian times?
Connie St Louis, science journalism lecturer
Sir Tim, a Cambridge graduate, became a fellow of the Royal Society in 1991. Ten years later he was awarded the Nobel prize for physiology or medicine alongside Lee Hartwell and Paul Nurse for their discoveries of 'key regulators of the cell cycle'.
He is married to fellow scientist Mary Collins, a professor of immunology at University College London, and has two daughters.
Last year, Dr Matt Taylor, the British scientist working on the European Space Agency's Rosetta Project, was forced to apologise for speaking about the Philae landing while dressed in a colourful shirt featuring scantily-clad women.
Many vented their anger on Twitter, claiming that Dr Taylor's choice of shirt was sexist and particularly inappropriate as science is a field long dominated by men.
Both men and women blasted Dr Taylor, accusing him of not caring about women in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics).
The 40-year-old, who has a PhD in space plasma physics from Imperial College London, broke down in tears as he said: 'I made a big mistake. 'And I have offended many people. I'm very sorry about this.'
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3117648/Ban-women-male-labs-distracting-cry-criticised-says-Nobel-prize-winner-Sir-Tim-Hunt.html#ixzz3d00rlyMe
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A statement read: 'The Royal Society believes that in order to achieve everything that it can, science needs to make the best use of the research capabilities of the entire population.'Too many talented individuals do not fulfil their scientific potential because of issues such as gender and the Society is committed to helping to put this right.'Sir Tim Hunt was speaking as an individual and his reported comments in no way reflect the views of the Royal Society.'
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