4 stories that show science still has a gender problem
Despite how far we’ve come, there’s a lot further to go, as interviews with women in STEM exhibiting at New Scientist Live highlight
“I did hairdressing, because that’s what girls did”
When I left school at 16, I did hairdressing, because that’s what girls did. So I had my own salon, reached my thirties, and thought — there’s got to be more to life than this. I was always a member of an astronomical society, I’ve always loved astronomy, but didn’t really know how to get into science.
So I [went] back to school, went onto university and did a degree in astronomy: now I’m space ambassador of Wales, encouraging the next generation to do science. I’m really passionate about women in science: if they want to be whatever they want to be they can be, and they don’t have to do hairdressing just because they’re a girl.
It is a very male-dominated industry, but I think we’re coming away from that now: there’s lots and lots of encouragement for women to get into science. But [I want to see] more women in science, and in higher roles — more professors is what we need to encourage the next generation.
- Emma Wride, Space Ambassador for Wales
“When I do shows, people say: ‘oh my god, a girl can fly a drone?”
For me, especially in this kind of job, it’s very challenging because it’s a man’s world. I’m the only girl in the company that flies and repairs drones. I am very proud of that, because it’s not easy. When I do shows, people say ‘oh my god, a girl can fly a drone, she can repair drones, it’s so cool!’ Yes, because we can do everything. We need more girls to do “boys’ jobs”. We need to be strong and show the world that we can do everything.
- Lidia Gabarrini, Extreme Fliers
“My daughter was made to recite the periodic table from memory to prove that she was a scientist”
My daughter [now a lecturer and STEM ambassador] was interviewed for a certain university, and was told she was too glamorous to be a scientist and that the ‘hair and beauty’ was down the road. She was made to recite the periodic table from memory to prove that she was a scientist. She got to about the third or fourth row down when they said she could stop there.
[At school] she was told if you went into science there were only two things you could do — be a doctor if you’re brainy, and be a nurse if you’re not. That is why we started up this charity [GlamSci, an organisation dedicated to helping disadvantaged young people achieve careers in STEM].
- Nicola King, GlamSci
“It was, one hundred percent, discrimination against females”
I was a police detective for ten years, had two children, and with my second child I asked to go part time, [and] they refused. When I came back from maternity leave, they basically cut me off. Eventually I ended up having to leave because of that. It was, one hundred percent, discrimination against females. People need to understand that funnily enough, women do have children, and they need to embrace that and allow women to have flexible working within that industry.
- Llorien To, The Detective Project + former detective at the MET
