Peter Griffin • Jul 28, 2017 •
How many women of New Zealand science, living or deceased, can you name? Before I started working at the Royal Society running the Science Media Centre, I’d have to admit that it was an embarrassingly small number on either count. Now, I’m privileged to have met hundreds of women in science and to have learned about numerous other women who … Read More
Guest Work • Jul 18, 2017 •
by Professor Cather Simpson (@ptolemytortoise) Yes, of course we do! Conferences that bring together women in science to discuss their work and what it’s like to BE a woman in science in the 21st century are incredibly useful to the whole science community. That’s a provocative assertion, but before you get, well, hysterical, let me give you a few excellent reasons why conferences like the 2017 AWIS “Celebrating Women in Science” are still valuable. First, these conferences simplify the process of … Read More
Guest Work • Jul 13, 2016 •
By Merryn McKinnon, Australian National University There have been myriad promises made by the major political parties over the years focused on funding programs aimed at increasing the number of women pursuing careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). Although some of the policies do target disciplines where women are underrepresented, there seems to be very little acknowledgement … Read More
Victoria Metcalf • May 23, 2016 •
There’s been some unsettling things happen in New Zealand science of late, but you may not have noticed all of them, as they relate to gender. It’s been a bit of a weird week for New Zealand science. There’s been the fishing debacle that’s unfolded like a intricate piece of origami – many extra facets and information being revealed each … Read More
Guest Work • Mar 08, 2016 •
Pankaj Sah, The University of Queensland The World Economic Forum estimated last year that at the current slow rate of progress, it will take until 2133 to close the global gender gap across health, education, economic opportunity and politics. We clearly need to take greater measures to close the gap. And, fittingly, the theme of this … Read More
Victoria Metcalf • Feb 14, 2016 •
February 11th marked the first ever International Day of Women and Girls in Science, as declared by the UN. These are my reflections on women in science drafted the day after this inaugural event. Yesterday Yesterday I spent time in the morning reading about some of the latest sexual harassment cases for women in science. It’s disturbing just … Read More
Nancy de Bueger • Oct 13, 2015 •
Today is Ada Lovelace Day, an international celebration of the achievements of women in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) with the goal of inspiring the next generation of budding women scientists, technologists, engineers and mathematicians. Here are five female Fellows of the Royal Society of New Zealand reflecting on their role models and what got them excited about … Read More
Victoria Metcalf • Dec 09, 2014 •
Sexism is rife in academia and leads to many leaving academic careers. Last week I worked my last day as an academic at Lincoln University, the disestablishment of my position in the protracted restructuring process officially complete. It’s time for a new chapter in what has been a pretty ugly year. Now I start on an adventure into an … Read More
Guest Work • Sep 22, 2014 •
Earlier this month, I went to see Cirque du Soleil’s Totem show, currently doing a month’s run in Auckland on its way around the world. It was, as ever, an amazing show, but one act really disappointed me. Not due to a lack of skill or amazement, but purely because of the way it depicted scientists. In this particular act, … Read More
Shaun Hendy • Jul 09, 2014 •
I had to wait until fourth form for my first lesson about feminism. I went to an all-boys school in provincial New Zealand, where classes on contemporary political issues were few and far between. So I sat up straight when my maths teacher told us that feminists believed that “All men are rapists.” For his fourteen-year old audience, he felt … Read More