The hunt for the Superstars of STEM to engage more women in science

The new Superstar in STEM ambassador Lisa Harvey-Smith at the Australian Astronomical Observatory’s 3.9m Anglo-Australia Telescope at Siding Spring Observatory. Author provided

Lisa Harvey-Smith, CSIRO
Superstars of STEM is a new program by Science and Technology Australia that aims to smash the stereotypical portrait of people in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).
The plan is to identify 30 superstar women currently in STEM, and work with them to create role models for young women and girls, and thus move towards equal representation in the media of men and women in STEM.
As the new ambassador and a mentor for Superstars of STEM, my role is to encourage broad participation, which we hope will elevate the visibility of women STEM professionals in public life.

Encouraging more women in STEM

There are already some programs that support female scientists and technologists in a bid to break down systemic obstacles. These include the Science in Australia Gender Equity program. Others aim to inspire women to study STEM subjects, such as Code like a Girl or to help young women build their techno-confidence, such as SheFlies and Robogals.
Adding to this picture, Superstars of STEM aims to address public perception and is founded on the principle that visibility matters in achieving equality.
Rather than simply attempting to shoehorn women into the public eye, this new program will work with 30 women in STEM to equip them with the skills, confidence and opportunities to become role models. This approach will build on the work being done to address systemic issues facing female scientists and technologists.
A recent European study by Microsoft found that most girls became interested in STEM at around the age of 11, but their interest began to wane at 15. This is an important age, as girls are starting to make decisions that will set the trajectory of their academic life.
The lack of role models in STEM was identified as the key factor that influenced the girls in the study, as well as a lack of practical experience with STEM subjects at school. On Twitter, 92% of the most followed scientists are male. When women scientists are mentioned in the media, they often tend to be described by their appearance rather than their achievements.
The need for more female STEM role models has also been echoed in similar reports and programs in Asia, the UK, Africa and the United States.
In Australia, more than half of all undergraduates and half of PhD students are female. Almost 60% of junior science lecturers are women. But women comprise just 16% of top-level science and technology researchers, professors and professionals.

Role models

As a young kid gazing at the stars, my role models were pioneering astronauts like Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, and eccentric types such as the late, great astronomy broadcaster Sir Patrick Moore.
I thought that was enough for me, until as a 16-year-old I met Britain’s first astronaut, Helen Sharman, at Space School UK. At that moment I suddenly realised that every one of my role models in the fields of astronomy and space science had been male.
Meeting this real-life STEM superstar had a transformational influence on me. It even spurred me on to apply for the European Astronaut Program in 2009.
As someone who is passionate about astrophysics and science education I have inadvertently become a role model myself.
But the continued lack of diverse role models in STEM makes me wonder how many missed opportunities and how much unrealised potential continues to be lost. Have our young, modern-day Marie Curies, Ruby Payne-Scotts, Ada Lovelaces and Isobel Bennetts passed up on science as a subject in favour of more conventional choices?

The new superstars

In its first year, Superstars of STEM is placing 30 women in the public eye, by equipping them with advanced communication skills. This will include media training, meetings with decision-makers, and opportunities to showcase their work.
Participants will also be supported to speak with girls directly at local high schools and public events, along with establishing a public profile online.
There are too few transformational and brilliant women in the public eye. Every success in science and technology in Australia is built on the work and contributions of people across the genders. For the sake of our girls,we need to celebrate these outstanding scientists and their work.
I imagine a time when we ask children to draw a scientist and they draw somebody who looks like mathematician Nalini Joshi, molecular biologist Suzanne Cory, or astronomer Karlie Noon.

The measure of the success of Superstars of STEM will be whether young Australian women can turn on the television, read a newspaper or engage with social media and see women experts presenting STEM as an exciting and viable career. I can’t wait to witness the opportunities this change will bring.

This article was co-authored with Kylie Walker, Chief Executive Officer of Science and Technology Australia.
Lisa Harvey-Smith, Group Leader - Australia Telescope National Facility Science, CSIRO
This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.

Inspiring to speak out - two physicists who changed the world

2017 is to be the year advocacy. In January, millions took to the streets in the worldwide women’s marches. The new US president’s executive order which brought about a visa ban for citizens of a number of countries led to a number of airport protests. And now scientists are pushing back. Marches are being planned for 22nd April (Earth day). But, this move is not without its critics, some scientist would prefer for us all to keep our heads down in such times.

There’s no escaping that scientist are embedded into society (whether we like it or not) and I do rather feel for my climate science colleagues who are watching as we sleepwalk into future strife. This is of course is only one issue that relies heavily on scientific endeavours, and those who think science operates in a vacuum are deluding themselves.

In times such as these it can seem dangerous to put your head above the parapet, so I thought I would take a bit of a historical perspective and look for inspiration in those who have raised their voices. The two people I immediately think of, Kathleen Lonsdale and Ursula Franklin, are far from ‘rogue’ – Dame Prof Lonsdale was a fellow of the Royal Society and Prof Franklin held a prestigious chair at University of Toronto. But both did raise their voices against world and local events in their time.

‘Does the police come for one or do I just have to go to prison myself?’

In 1943 Kathleen Lonsdale, was convicted to a month in Holloway prison for her consciences objection to work supporting World War II activities. At this time she had already undertaken perhaps her most famous research, showing through the crystal structure of Hexamethylbenzene that the benzene molecule was flat, a controversial finding at the time. Understandably, she was reticent to go to prison, but to all accounts it turned out to be a pivotal event in her life.

Kathleen Lonsdale in 1968. Smithsonian Institution from United States

Senior colleagues petitioned for her to be allowed her scientific papers while interred, and she remarked it turned out to be a most productive time. She left prison writing to the governor with suggestions on improving the lighting and cleanliness, and followed up on her points by regularly returning (as a visitor). Her experiences led her to advocate for women prisoners in later years and it can’t be said that her researcher career suffered. In 1945, along with Marjory Stephenson, Kathleen Lonsdale was elected one of the first female fellows of the Royal Society.

Her seniority within the field of crystallography also meant that Kathleen Lonsdale became very well connected with international colleagues, and used those connections in her advocacy against atomic weapons and to break down cultural barriers. She strove to welcome Soviet and Chinese colleagues in a time where political distrust was at its highest, visiting Moscow in 1951 and the People’s Republic of China in 1955. One thing I find particularly inspiring was her determination that those scientists from developed countries had a duty to assist those in developing economies.

Ursula Franklin, who passed away last year, was a pioneer in archeometry and the first women to be appointed University Professor at University of Toronto. But it was her experiences of being interned in a Nazi labour camp as a young adult drove her passionately to passivism. Perhaps her biggest contribution was when she used her scientific expertise to into a strong passion for pacifism.

Ursula Franklin in 2006. Martin Franklin

It was as a member of the Voices of Women group, that she coordinated the collection of baby teeth in Canada in the 1960’s. The subsequent analysis that was undertaken of these teeth, showed that they contained radioactive Strontium 90, a result of atmospheric testing of nuclear weapons. This emotive piece of research was one of the key pieces of evidence that lead to the 1963 ban on atmospheric nuclear weapons testing.

Being a women researcher in the post-war period, she broke ground fighting to stay in her job after the birth of her children.

‘They had that bloody committee, and they went on deliberating. They didn’t appoint anybody, so I kept on working’

Even when retired Franklin kept on campaigning, joining a group of emeritus professors who filed a class action against the university of Toronto in 2001 citing that their female academic staff had been underpaid for years. They won.

In 2017, as we have to stand up and make our voices heard, I find the legacies of Prof Franklin and Lonsdale incredibly inspiring. Here are two physicists who use their scientific position and research to further a cause – I’d be interested in finding others who’ve inspired you.


Helen Maynard-Casely, Instrument Scientist, Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation
This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.