Work

Visibility without protection: gendered barriers to artistic practices and science communication through art in academia

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Artistic practices offer researchers alternative modes of expression and, in some cases, of science communication, yet they remain institutionally marginal within academia. This study first develops a theoretical framework to explain the symbolic and structural exclusions that women face in artistic practices and science communication through art and then illustrates it with empirical evidence. Drawing on a national survey of 6276 researchers and an expert workshop in Spain, we show that gender, ideology, and caregiving responsibilities intersect to limit women’s participation in science communication through art—an emergent but under-recognised form of academic labour—particularly among more conservative researchers. We conceptualise this condition as visibility without protection, whereby science communication through art exposes researchers to increased public visibility without corresponding institutional support. The study clarifies how structural and cultural dynamics combine to produce gendered vulnerability in science communication through art and calls for academic norms that better recognise diverse forms of knowledge expression.

Source: Humanities and Social Sciences Communications

DOI: 10.1057/s41599-026-08582-1

Author: Joaquín M. Azagra-Caro

Institutions: Instituto de Gestión de la Innovación y del Conocimiento, Universitat Politècnica de València

Language: English

Topic: Gender and Feminist Studies

Subfield: Gender Studies

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Gender equality, Reduced inequalities

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $1,890