Over the last few weeks ScienceGrrl has been
fortunate to get a few e-mails from young women who have found out about us and
are encouraged in their love of science by what we are doing and how we are
doing it. This, in turn, encourages us a great deal - we are getting something
very right!
One of the young women responsible for putting
a massive smile on my face is Laura Oxley, who has kindly agreed that we can
reproduce her e-mail here. I think it's inspirational in it's own right, not
just because it makes me feel a tiny bit smug.
"I found an article about ScienceGrrl in The Observer and WOW! There's
other people who reacted as strongly as I did to the European Commission’s
"inclusion" programme...emphasis on the quotation marks around the
word inclusion!
I am an A2 student studying Physics, Chemistry and Biology. Science is number
one in my life as my younger sister frequently ridicules me for; It's been the
core to everything that fascinates me and motivates me since I was little
and I'm keen to pursue a career in scientific research.
Although there are many girls in my biology class, I am one of only two in a
highly testosterone-fuelled bunch of boys in physics, and one of 5 in
chemistry. It can be a real struggle to make yourself heard and to make people
see how dedicated you are to your passion when you're just a needle in a
haystack.
I'm not from an academic background, my Dad is a joiner and my Mum is a
secretary, my love for science is something I've developed by myself, along
with my work ethics, strong opinions and self esteem. It doesn't take much
more information about me to gauge my reaction to the EC film. Not only did I
feel like it was the EC stamping all over me and dampening my view of what it
is to be a young woman in science, I also found that although many people felt
the same, there were still a considerable number of girls my age who could not
care less! A Radio 1 Newsbeat report had a clip of a girl saying that she'd
dropped Physics as a subject because it was male-dominated and there wasn't
really anything in it to interest girls. I was left feeling personally
insulted. I'm a girl, I like clothes and shoes and chocolate and all those ‘girl’
things...I just also happen to like ecology, evolution, biomechanics,
neuroscience, getting my hands dirty and sitting down with a calculator to
tackle some killer maths as well. I'm applying to do Neuroscience, Biology
and Physiological Science degrees.
Thankyou for voicing my thoughts so well. ScienceGrrl is just what I need!"
Yes, science is for everybody. There is a competition at the moment run by the EC to choose a better video to replace the 'Science; it's a girl thing'. Check them out here http://promoshq.wildfireapp.com/website/6/contests/298231/voteable_entries to see lots of real scientists who happen to be women doing what they are passionate about and vote to tell the EC what you would like to see.
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