Weekly Wrap-Up

Weekly Wrap-Up

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 feature at a conference or in the media, we can point to the now nearly 9,000 women in the database they can invite next time. This week, we published the outcomes of this 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!

Take Action Tuesday

Treat every day like it’s Earth Day

Yesterday was Earth Day, but the global challenges of the Anthropocene require us to actively work towards solutions to our environmental issues every day. Although many of these issues have global impacts, it’s important to remember that the burdens of environmental issues like climate change, plastic pollution, and water and air pollution aren’t always equitably distributed. Environmental issues are intertwined with issues of social justice, and it’s important that we become and remain aware of this relationship and how it shapes different communities live. What can we all do to treat every day like its Earth day?

Today’s post is brought to you by Susan Cheng and Charise Johnson

Photo credit: NASA

Take Action Tuesday

Take Action Tuesday

April 11-17th is Black Maternal Health Week, organized by the Black Mamas Matter Alliance to bring awareness and action to maternal health and reproductive justice . The month of April is also recognized in the United States as National Minority Health Month – a month-long initiative to advance health equity across the country on behalf of all racial and ethnic minorities.

Take Action Tuesday

Take Action Tuesday

Many scientists have been very vocal about the importance of vaccination, however this may result in social media wars, in which both parties disagree, become increasingly angry, and no movement is made. Our goal is to improve the way we, as scientists, communicate with people who are hesitant about vaccines. Today, you can Take Action by using the literature to your advantage!

The Journey I've Begun

The Journey I've Begun

This week on #MeetAScientist, get to know Dr. Kirsty Nash, a marine ecologist at the Institute for Marine & Antarctic Studies and founder of aKIDemicLife.com. The website is an online resource to connect parents and carers working in research or academic settings to information to support their work and their child caring responsibilities. In this interview, Kirsty chats about her work studying the resilience of marine social-ecological systems, as well as the inspiration for launching the aKIDemic Life, as part of our #SciMomJourney campaign.

Take Action Tuesday

Take Action Tuesday

Mothers working in science have a tough job – juggling the demands of a career and looking after family. A recent study published in Nature found that in the United States “more than 40% of women with full-time jobs in science leave the sector or go part time after having their first child”. This week in #TakeActionTuesday the focus is all about supporting mothers in science. How can you help those around you?

So Much Left to Learn

So Much Left to Learn

This week on #MeetAScientist, get to know Dr. Jessica Ware, an entomologist, evolutionary biologist, and Associate Professor at Rutgers University-Newark. In 2014, she and her colleagues discovered a never-before-seen species of cockroach in New York City! In this interview, Dr. Ware chats about how she found her way to studying insects, as well as her experiences being a single queer mother to two LGBTQ children in line with our #SciMomJourney campaign. You can follow Dr. Ware’s research group on Twitter @JessicaLWareLab.

Critical and Conscious Reiteration

Critical and Conscious Reiteration

This week on #MeetAScientist, get to know Shaila Kotadia, Director of Culture and Inclusion at Stanford University and a member of 500 Women Scientists’ advisory board. Shaila received her PhD in Genetics and Developmental Biology, and now works to eliminate barriers in STEM through building creative programs, mitigating bias, and changing policies and practices. In this interview, she chats about her work in the equity and inclusion space, as well as a little bit of her #SciMomJourney.

Weekly Wrap-Up

Weekly Wrap-Up

Today, we look to the students from around the world who have walked out of school to demand action on climate. We’re reminded that it’s not enough to draw inspiration from them today if we fail to act on climate tomorrow. 500 Women Scientists reaffirms our commitment to advocate for science-based policies that promote equity and justice—and leave the world a better place for the generations ahead!

Developing a Thick Skin

Developing a Thick Skin

This week on #MeetAScientist get to know Dr. Liz McCullagh, a neuroscientist and leadership team member of 500 Women Scientists. She has co-led some of our major initiatives like the Request a Woman Scientist resource and our newly launched #SciMomJourney campaign to raise awareness around challenges facing science moms in STEM fields and connecting them to resources and support. In this interview, she chats about these initiatives and what has propelled her through her career in science.

International Women's Day

International Women's Day

Happy International Women’s Day! We are excited to be celebrating by raising a pint with our pods. Tag us on twitter or instagram (@500WomenSci) and let us know how you are celebrating. And as put by Athene Donald, let’s also honor those forced out of science. Thank you to everyone in our network, we are so grateful to you and the important work you do!

Our mission is to serve society by making science open, inclusive, and accessible, and to transform society by fighting racism, patriarchy, and oppressive societal norms