How do you feel the political leanings of an organization, or the opinions of those who work there, have an impact today? Is the situation better or worse than it was in Rosalind’s day?

At Birkbeck, Rosalind’s new boss and coworkers espouse communist ideals, while she personally hates all things having to do with the Cold War.

Do you think this political divide impacted her work at all?

How do you feel the political leanings of an academic institute or business, or the opinions of those who work in them, have an impact today?

Is the situation better or worse than it was in Rosalind’s day?

I think this book was very timely. If we look at the race to get a Covid vaccine approved and delivered, we can envision the race for discovery that Rosalind participated in.

Nothing much has changed except maybe the stakes are higher financially.

I agree with rosannes. The Covid vaccine is the perfect example of science gone awry because of politics. Science should come first, but often doesn't.

I can speak to the culture of academia where the political culture of a school or even a department can be a huge roadblock to those who do not share those beliefs. It can make the workplace toxic and can destroy careers. In some work places it can be a mere distraction, but in competitive environments it can be weaponized. Agree to disagree is often impossible.

Unfortunately things are much the same today in large corporations especially. I recently heard a talk by an author of a recent book on the Boeing industry failure with the Max 8 jets. He was able to speak with employees anonymously as they of course could say nothing agains the industry if they wanted to keep their jobs. It was apparent that engineers working on the Max 8 had misgivings but were not listened to which led to the loss of more than 600 lives when those jets crashed.

Political leanings and opinions of the workers in an organization can have a great impact. A company or organization has goals that need to be supported financially to sustain itself and thrive. In today's world, many organizations support senators through donations to their campaigns. In turn, the senators support the cause of the organization by voting in favor of that organization.
It is probably worse today because the Supreme Court has allowed "dark money" to enter the donation coffers. Voters do not know who is supporting the various causes or goals and for what reason.