How do climate researchers express themselves publicly – and what challenges do they face in doing so? The book chapter “Wissenschaftskommunikation zum Klimawandel in einer polarisierten Gesellschaft – Geschlecht, Anfeindungen und institutionelle Herausforderungen” (EN: Science communication on climate change in a polarized society: gender, hostility, and institutional challenges) by Dr. Josephine B. Schmitt, scientific coordinator at CAIS, and Dr. Sabine Reich, research associate at ZeMKI – Centre for Media, Communication and Information Research at the University of Bremen, examines the public communication of climate researchers in an increasingly polarized social environment. Based on qualitative interviews with 13 researchers, the study reveals the motives behind their engagement, how they deal with hatred and hostility, and the role that gender and institutional conditions play in this context. The results clearly indicate that visibility in science is not only a question of expertise, but also of gender, institutional support, and the courage to engage in social debates.
The book chapter was published in the edited volume “Wissenschaftskommunikation und Gender. Chancen und Herausforderungen der Sichtbarkeit von Wissenschaftlerinnen in sozialen und klassischen Medien” (EN: Science communication and gender. Opportunities and challenges of the visibility of women scientists in social and traditional media), edited by Judith Ackermann, Anne-Kathrin Gerlieb and Anna-Sophie Barbutev.
The entire book is available as open access:
https://www.transcript-verlag.de/978-3-8376-7804-8/wissenschaftskommunikation-und-gender/
Reich, S. & Schmitt, J. B. (2025). Wissenschaftskommunikation zum Klimawandel in einer polarisierten Gesellschaft – Geschlecht, Anfeindungen und institutionelle Herausforderungen. In J. Ackermann, A.-K. Gerlieb & A.-S. Barbutev (Eds.), Wissenschaftskommunikation und Gender. Chancen und Herausforderungen der Sichtbarkeit von Wissenschaftlerinnen in sozialen und klassischen Medien (pp. 235–245). transcript.