EuChemS conducted three employment surveys (ESEC1 – ESEC3) between 2013 and 2020. The responses provided unique data. For example, the data showed that chemists have always been very satisfied with their jobs, that 54% of the respondents had never experienced gender pay inequality in their workplace and that 78% had never experienced sexual harassment at work (https://doi.org/10.1002/chem.202401222).
ESEC questionnaires are multiple choice. These questionnaires allow convenient backtracking of the conditions surveyed. They end with the request: “Is there anything else you would like to let us know?” There are no restrictions on the topic or length of the free- text response, as we want to get individual thoughts from the members of the chemical workforce and to learn about issues that might otherwise be neglected. In the case of ESEC3, the free-text responses together were over 6000 words, a clear indication of the issues that needed to be addressed.
The ESEC3 free-text responses covered a wide range of topics. Many of these responses touched on very different points within a single answer. It was a challenge to analyse them all in a systematic way. Several attempted to categorise the responses by conventional means. Their results looked very different and it was almost impossible to combine them into a coherent picture. Later, we analysed the mix of topics in the responses using different AI algorithms. Similar to human analysis, different AI results look different, but only at first glance. On closer inspection, different AI algorithms simply split the responses into more categories or used alternative terms for the categories. The AI results could easily be grouped into five categories.
“Discrimination and Harassment” is the main topic in the free-text responses. 33% of all responses relate to this topic. Within this group, most refer to gender discrimination. Sexual harassment plays a minor role. The conclusion is that sexual harassment does not occur often in the chemical workforce, but when it does, it is a serious problem.
“Equality and Career” is the second biggest concern in the free-text responses. Within this category, 50% of the responses relate to pay and career progression. This corresponds well with the responses in the multiple-choice part of the questionnaire (see above). Balancing work and family life as well as problems with support programmes are the main issues in this category. It is very concerning that these issues disproportionately affect the female workforce in chemistry.
“Health and Safety issues” are mentioned in many entries under “Work Environment and Conditions”. “Personal Opinions and Survey Feedback” contain a number of suggestions for improving the questionnaire. The main topic under “Academic challenges” refers to deficiencies in the supervision of PhD students and postdocs. There are also concerns about research funding, academic hierarchy and even academic corruption.
Based on feedback from previous surveys, the ESEC4 questionnaire has been revised to include questions about your expectations for the future development of your workplace. Your responses will provide a sound basis for decision-makers. A large number of participants will give great weight to the results so please support the efforts of EuChemS and participate in ESEC4, which is prepared in collaboration with EYCN, Chemistry Europe, Royal Society of Chemistry and the American Chemical Society.
