Weekly Wrap-Up

This week marks our 3-year anniversary! In November 2016, we watched the US election results come in with a mix of disbelief, fear, and deep sadness. But in the days that followed, we gathered our support network of women scientists and got to the work of confronting the threads of racism, misogyny, xenophobia, and anti-science rhetoric that were amplified during the 2016 US election. We knew that these same sentiments were alive and well in science, so we focused on transforming our own scientific institutions. 

We planted the seeds of resistance among women scientists without knowing whether we planted on fertile ground or whether there would be nutrients and water to sustain our growth. We planted because the act of planting felt like an act of resistance. 

Three years later, we are in awe of the amazing 500 Women Scientists network across the globe. We have grown in ways we could not have imagined. Our mission to serve society by making science open, inclusive, and accessible continues to resonate, but we are different people than we were in November 2016. We are more aware of all the ways our institutions fail us. We are continuing to confront the shameful history of science being used to harm people—and the participation of the scientific community in this harm. We are still learning to use our voices to speak out against the injustices we see in science and in society. We are grappling with our privileges. We are learning that building a truly inclusive and intersectional movement is messy and painful, but critically important. And we so appreciate that you have been here with us on this journey - this is the hard work of making science more open, inclusive, and accessible, and we could not do any of this without you.

Thank you for the last 3 years. We are just getting started.

WHAT WE’VE DONE

  • Celebrated our 3 year anniversary 🎂

  • We are looking for 500 subscribers!

  • Shared our notes from the St. Louis leadership meeting

  • Big news - we are fully integrating 500 Women in Medicine into the 500 Women Scientists org! Read about why this is the right move for us and how we will work together to achieve collective our mission.

  • India Bioscience is using our guide to organizing inclusive meetings

WHAT WE LIKE

READING CORNER

IN OUR EARBUDS

Don’t hesitate to send us your podcast and book suggestions

Photo by Brooke Lark on Unsplash

500 Women Scientists is on its way to becoming a powerful organization representing the voices of tens of thousands of women scientists all over the globe. With your gift we can pay for the vital infrastructure we need. Plus, your donations help keep 500WS resources free and open, one less barrier to women in science.