Collecting valuable primary data ‘in the field’ – beyond the walls of the institution in which we work – is an important part of research and career progression, and the reason why many of us choose to go into the disciplines we do. There are unavoidable difficulties we all will face when conducting research. In the course of our own work in South Asia, we have become increasingly aware of various issues that we as women may experience in particular ways. For example, dealing with issues of extreme climates, possibly remote locations, and very specific cultural contexts. That is without even considering the complex connotations related to ethnicity, nationality, sex and gender.

It is at the fieldwork stage of the research that women, and especially intersectional women, start to fall behind or even away from the research and career ladder in disciplines where primary data collection is key. From entrenched cultural norms where women are not ‘seen’ in certain places to the lack of available networking or support, there are a number of reasons why this occurs. This leads, inevitably, to the ‘leaky pipe’ scenario faced by many academic disciplines whereby the number of women in the latter stages of their careers and in senior positions has dramatically dropped.

We created this network in the hope that we could bring together women from different disciplines but with shared experiences in conducting fieldwork (or attempting to) in South Asia. We wish to discuss the major issues but also to see whether we can reach some resolutions while creating a supportive network of interdisciplinary researchers supporting women, ALL WOMEN, in the field.