Women in science are confronted with numerous gender-related challenges on a daily basis as part of having to work in an often male-dominated atmosphere. Miscommunications between genders can cause stress, strain relationships, generate mistrust and affect job performance.

In the Enhancing Gender-Related Communication Workshop, exclusively designed for female junior scientists, we will focus on how the participants can improve and optimize their individual communication style and make themselves heard and better understood by their male work colleagues. Being aware of how they are perceived by and react to male work colleagues will allow female researchers to function more professionally and to achieve more academically.

A core element of improving communication differences at work is to develop a "gender-unbiased” communication style. Based on the essentials of effective communication and gender-specific non-verbal and verbal motivations behind communication, together we will analyze the participants’ communication patterns and find ways together to level out female/male frictions in communication.

To facilitate the skills development and building process, individual case histories will be addressed and the participants will be coached on how they can apply and implement workable communication tools.

> Workshop content

1. Examining gender-specific communication styles
2. Reviewing individual communication patterns
3. Developing assertive and effective communication patterns

> By the end of the workshop participants will be able to:

• Recognise the different communication styles of men and women
• Grasp the gender-specific elements behind communication
• Adjust their communication style to create successful communications
• Avoid gender-related conflicts