»The sea doesn't care about your gender.«
Johanna Baehr
Prof. Baehr, why the ocean – was there some key moment that made up your mind?
Nothing specific. I grew up in the GDR, where they systematically promoted children’s natural talents. For me, it was math. In primary school, it became clear that it was my strong suit. Later, I attended a school with a natural sciences focus. There weren’t many girls there, but plenty of female teachers. To us, it was obvious: What matters is what you’re capable of, not your gender. I only realized how male-dominated the natural sciences were once I went to college.
When did you realize how many obstacles there were for women in science?
Not until my dissertation. I noticed that there were no female professors for me to talk to, let alone ones with children. I wanted to know how it could work: doing research and having a family. But there was nobody to ask. Someone recommended I get in touch with a professor of meteorology – so, someone from a different field and a different city. We talked on the phone.
How did you become a professor?
It wasn’t until my time in the US that I actually had female role models. When I planned to return to Germany, my colleagues at MIT warned me: Why would you want to go back 20 years in the past? I didn’t really take it seriously, but later I got the classic response: “They only gave you the job because you’re a woman.” Or: “We’ll wait and see if you can actually do the job.” But in 2009 I became the first female Professor of Oceanography here at the institute.
Is there a moment that you particularly remember?
My favorite example is the annual report that came out the year I started here. It read: We now welcome male person A as a Professor of Theoretical Oceanography, male person B as a Junior Professor focusing on turbulence – and Johanna Baehr as our first female Professor. No mention of my field of expertise. My research didn’t matter, only my gender.
This being reduced to your gender – how did you see it in your daily work?
In lots of little things. Less communication, which leads to less access to resources and projects – it all adds up. I had the feeling I was different from everyone else. It didn’t exactly help that I was pregnant with my second child when I started. The first child had already been a good test of how flexible the structures were. There were meetings at 4 p.m. – exactly when I needed to pick up my child from daycare. When I tried to explain this truthfully, I didn’t get very far, but having “an important external commitment” was considered an acceptable excuse.
Have things gotten better in the past few years?
Absolutely; many things have changed in the past decade. There are now more women at the highest academic level. As for my own working environment in Hamburg, I’ve greatly profited from how we’ve supported one another, formed networks, and helped out new colleagues. Today we can bear in mind more criteria for diversity – not just gender, but ethnic background, lifestyle, and perspective.
What do you think still needs to change?
I’d like to see us all work together in a way that differences are simply accepted – so that no-one has to feel that they’re left out just because they’re different. There’s nothing that slows down your work more than constantly worrying about whether you belong there.
What does your day-to-day work look like now?
A mix of research, education and coordination. I head a large team, and we work on questions concerning the ocean-climate system, ocean currents, and long-term changes. On some days I spend most of my time in meetings, but I also spend a great deal of time on scientific discussions and jointly analyzing data, often together with peers from around the world. The work is very collaborative and international, two aspects that I love.
What fascinates you about oceanography?
How little we actually know about the sea. Every new finding is like a window into another world. The sea is so complex, so dynamic, it shapes our climate and our lives in such a fundamental way.
Have there been any big surprises in your research career?
One of my greatest discoveries so far is that Europe’s winter climate can be predicted – contrary to the assumption that, because of the chaotic atmosphere, it can’t. By combining climate models with simple, physics-based estimates – using, say, temperatures in the North Atlantic, the stratosphere, the snow cover in Siberia, and the Arctic sea ice – we significantly improved the forecasts. In fact, they were so accurate that one assessment read: “too good to be true.” It was a real breakthrough to realize that this combination of modelling and physics-based intuition could achieve so much more than we’d hoped.
What motivates you in your research?
Curiosity. I want to know how the climate really affects the major ocean currents and vice versa. And I want to better understand how science and society can learn from one another. The sea is open, huge, full of secrets – and belongs to us all.
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Prof. Johanna Baehr, born in 1977 in Jena, heads the Climate Modelling Working Group at the University of Hamburg’s Institute of Oceanography and serves on the Board of Directors of the Earth and Society Research Hub (ESRAH).
