Category Archives: Women in science

Is Ballroom Dancing like Academia?

Posted on 24 March 2025 by Athene Donald

One of my secret loves is watching each series of Strictly Come Dancing. It is a feel-good vibe we all need in these dark geopolitical days, however much I don’t care how many sequins are sewed on by hand.  So, … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in demeaning, entitlement, equity, Science Culture, Shirley Ballas, Women in science | Leave a comment

Another Year, Another IWD: What’s Changed?

Posted on 8 March 2025 by Athene Donald

Every year International Women’s Day sparks a momentary bout of reflection about the state of women in our society. The  House of Lords has an annual debate, for instance, this year about women in STEM.  Social media will showcase many … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Barbara Castle, EPSRC, Equal Pay Act, Equality, gender pay gap, Women in science | Comments Off on Another Year, Another IWD: What’s Changed?

International Day of Women and Girls in Science 2025

Posted on 11 February 2025 by Athene Donald

It is ten years since UNESCO declared today, February 11th, as the International Day of Women and Girls in Science. Less well-known, I suspect, than International Women’s Day, it has a more specific focus. Sadly, in its ten years of … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in ASPIRES2, education, Michaela, natural history, People, pipeline, schoolteachers, Women in science | Comments Off on International Day of Women and Girls in Science 2025

Climate Change and Seneca Falls

Posted on 3 November 2024 by Athene Donald

Those of you familiar with American women’s call for the vote will recognize the name Seneca Falls. It is situated in picturesque upstate New York, near the top of Lake Cayuga, at the bottom of which sit Ithaca and Cornell … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in climate change, Eunice Foote, Peter Stott, Women in science | Comments Off on Climate Change and Seneca Falls

What Can I Do to Help?

Posted on 15 September 2024 by Athene Donald

Men who’ve heard me talk about my book (Not Just for the Boys: Why we need more women in science), or more generally about the issues facing women in STEM, not infrequently ask me this question: what can I do … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in ECRs, Erin Zimmerman, maternity leave, motherhood, Research, Science Culture, supervisors, Women in science | Comments Off on What Can I Do to Help?

Role Models for Girls?

Posted on 16 June 2024 by Athene Donald

Recently I received an email from a young girl (aged 8 and a half, as she signed herself off, with overtones of Adrian Mole) complaining about the lack of representation of women in STEM. As she says ‘If you want … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Barbara McClintock, Donna Strickland, education, Marie Curie, national curriculum, Women in science | Comments Off on Role Models for Girls?

Futurepub March 2024 – International Women’s Day

Posted on 8 March 2024 by Frank Norman

The latest event in the Futurepub series, on 4 March 2024, took International Women’s Day as its theme. The topics of the talks were related to women and four out of the five speakers were women. It was held at … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Futurepub, Journal publishing, women, Women in science, Women in tech | Comments Off on Futurepub March 2024 – International Women’s Day

Being Exceptional

Posted on 3 January 2024 by Athene Donald

One of the books I read over Christmas was the 2023 book by Kate Zernike, The Exceptions. It is a story about that committed band of sixteen female scientists at MIT, led by Nancy Hopkins, who built up the evidence … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Kate Zernike, MIT, Nancy Hopkins, Science Culture, Women in science | Comments Off on Being Exceptional

Not Being in the In-Crowd

Posted on 14 December 2023 by Athene Donald

Recently I was preparing a talk about work scientists may do that is not simply research and it has provoked me to think about when I fell into doing policy work, or at least moving out of the lab itself. … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Food Physics, grant panels, maternity leave, Research, Science Culture, Women in science | Comments Off on Not Being in the In-Crowd

Conversations in Amazing Libraries

Posted on 20 November 2023 by Athene Donald

Remarkably, I have been in three magnificent rooms of books in the last week, starting off with the Wren Library in Cambridge’s Trinity College. The first photo (which I admit I have taken from Diane Coyle’s Bluesky feed) gives an … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Communicating Science, Diane Coyle, Mary Somerville, Royal Institution, Tabitha Goldstaub, Women in science, Wren Library | Comments Off on Conversations in Amazing Libraries