• Question: What do you think of the fact that people still think that the world of science and all the discoveries should be ruled mainly by men?

    Asked by Elisaben to Eoin, Ester, Ildiko, Natasha, Paul, Tom on 7 Nov 2017.
    • Photo: Natasha Myhill

      Natasha Myhill answered on 7 Nov 2017:

      Hey, so I am not entirely clear on the question but I will try my best! So if you mean ruled as in the men take the credit, it doesnt feel like thats the case as a scientist. It might depend on what field you are in – it feels like there are a lot more women in the field of biology and chemistry, than in physics and mathematics/engineering. For example, 3/4 in my lab are women, and my fiancee just said in his lab, its about 4/5 women to 1/5 men!

      It is really sad that in general there is still a stigma that science is for men, because a lot of women are missing out on something really great! However, at least in the UK, there are various schemes and programmes to try and tackle this, such as Athena SWAN – an equality charter, and the WISE campaign to acknowledge the successes of women in science and technology.

    • Photo: Ester Gil Vazquez

      Ester Gil Vazquez answered on 7 Nov 2017:

      I don’t think many people feel like that anymore. We are aware that women can (an should!) do science. However, it is true that, the higher the position, the lower the percentages of women occupying it. Why? many people think that women stop their career to start a family while men don’t use to do so as often. Others think that there are not enough female reference to inspire young women to get into science. Whatever the reasons are, this difference is not as huge as it used to be before (there are many female group leaders in my center), and luckily it will continue decreasing! 🙂

    • Photo: Paul McKeegan

      Paul McKeegan answered on 10 Nov 2017:

      Do people still feel like this? I hope not!
      I have two supervisors, of which both are women. One is a lecturer in engineering and the other is a professor of reproductive medicine. Both are very well regarded in their fields and within the University! It is true that the more senior positions in science tend to be men, but this is changing! There is a lot of work going into fixing the gender divide, but the most important thing is more women getting into science and making discoveries!

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