“It is shameful that there are so few women in science...There is a misconception in America that women scientists are all dowdy spinsters. This is the fault of men.”
A central part of achieving our mission to make science open, inclusive, and accessible is to promote women in STEM in the public sphere. For the last year, our Request a Woman Scientist database has been central to that goal. Whenever someone tells us they just couldn’t find a woman with the right expertise to invite to a conference or consult in the media, we can point to the more than 9,000 women they can invite next time. This week, we published the outcomes of the first year of the Request resource and shared some of our next directions in an article for PLOS Biology. We’re eager to apply the lessons we’ve learned to revamping the database and encouraging more women to share their expertise from around the globe and from a range of STEM fields. Onwards!
What We’ve Done
Published the results of the first year of our Request a Woman Scientist resource
Announced our work with Critigen to improve the Request a Woman Scientist database
Called on our network to continue conserving and protecting our Earth
Tackled #MedBurnout with 500 Women in Medicine and the Medical Professionalism Project
Used the TED stage to bring attention to the importance of soil in climate change
What We Like
Follow Friday: @ayanaeliza, @wardofplants, @Professor_Tong, @mcmsharksxx,
@TinaLasisiHow hip-hop helps us understand science, a phenomenal TED talk by Dr. Danielle Lee
Celebrating Rosalind Franklin and Florence Bell for their contributions on DNA Day
Shining a spotlight on the unsung American heroines of early feminism
Understanding what it means and what it takes to decolonize science