Feminine Science Role Models... and other bad ideas

News of research indicating that feminine scientists may actually put girls off science raised a few eyebrows at Soho Skeptics last month... so we asked the fantabulous Michelle Brook to do some digging and find out what that paper really said:

What does a scientist look like? In an ideal world, if we asked a random group of children to draw a scientist, we would see a huge variety of responses. We would see some male, some female, some dressed in lab coats, and others ‘in the field’.

Scientists, like any other group, are not all the same.

And as a community we ought be showing this diversity. To encourage children to embrace the idea that they can follow scientific careers, we need to be showing that people like them already do science. Evidence shows that perceived similarity is an important factor in creating effective role models, and therefore we need to be providing role models that aren’t just old, white, men.

Yet there is a wealth of evidence showing that children of all ages, even those from minoritybackgrounds, have the over-whelming perception of a scientist as awhite bespectacled man, working alone in a lab.

With scientists – male and female – visiting schools, and taking part in engagement schemes like the brilliant ‘I am a Scientist, Get me out of here!’, we hope to start counteracting this image, and show that scientists are human beings; that they have their own sets of interests, personalities, have taken different career paths, and indeed can be emulated.

Therefore, when a news release for a paper entitled ‘My Fair Physicist? Feminine Math and Science Role Models Demotivate Young Girls’ popped into my Twitter feed a few weeks ago, I was rather alarmed.

What are the implications of this, if feminine role models really do demotivate girls from embracing science? By encouraging a wide range of people, including ‘feminine’ women to talk to children, are we actively doing harm? Social science research can be invaluable at informing our understanding of human interactions, so I took the scientific approach, read the paper, and looked at the results.

I’m not going to repeat what is a comprehensive take down of the paper. However the tl;dr (too long; didn’t read) version is that neither myself nor a number of others are convinced by the conclusions of the study.

The paper focused upon a very extreme stereotype of what a ‘feminine female scientist’ would look like; someone who wears pink, likes fashion magazines and wears make up. I wouldn’t like to define what a ‘feminine female scientist’ would look or act like, nor guess at how such a person would be portrayed in a written interview (as was the method used to introduce the role models to participants of this study).

Whilst I am sure there are some female scientists who do wear pink clothes, like fashion magazines, and wear make up (indeed, my former physics teacher was one), it is statistically unlikely that there would be that many. Instead we would expect a bell-curve of 'femininity' (however that was defined), and indeed a female scientist certainly need not conform to this image in order to self-define as ‘feminine’.

Just by looking around us, and thinking about who we know, we can see that scientists come in all shapes, sizes and skin colours. Some are male, some female, and some would prefer not to define as either. Some are feminine, and others are not.  

Similarly, school aged girls are not a single group. Some of these will be more confident than others, some will have more positive ideas and experiences of science, and yes, undoubtedly some of these will be more feminine than others.

If we want to provide girls, and indeed other groups under-represented in science, with role models, we need to ensure that these multiple types of ‘scientist’ are made visible. The more we do this, the more we breakdown the preconceptions of who and what a ‘scientist’ is, and the more we increase the probability that any one child can find someone they can relate to, and hope to emulate.

Perhaps there will be studies in the future which better show the effects of role model types on perceptions of science. Perhaps we will get better insight into the age at which stereotypical images of scientists begin to form, how these preconceptions are reinforced, and how to better break them.

In the meantime, I think we can do a lot worse than displaying the diversity of scientists in our midst.

...and a Happy New Year!

2012 was quite a year for ScienceGrrl. 

We formed in June, and in just over 4 months produced our beautiful 2013 calendar. Following the launch party in October, over 850 copies of the calendar have flown out to take their places in homes, schools and offices across the world. We still have some copies left if you haven't got yours yet - pick one up for half (the original) price in our January sale.

The Christmas break has given us all chance to rest up, take a step back, and grin like Cheshire cats at the thought of these images of female scientists and women inspired by science (plus a few guys!) from a wide range of backgrounds and disciplines heading out to enlighten, inform and challenge stereotypes about science and scientists. More grin-inducing still, though, are the opportunities we've had as a result of making the calendar to talk about who we are and what matters to us, and connect with a whole host of others who are also keen to raise the profile of female scientists.

We've featured in national newspapers; been interviewed for radio, podcasts and websites; got hands-on live science onto the Radio4 Today programme; gathered over 2000 followers on Twitter and connected with more on facebook; spoken to a wide variety of professional bodies, like-minded organisations, political parties, and individuals (including a few high-profile ones like Prof Brian Cox) who wanted to find out more and explore possibilities for collaboration. We have talked, nattered, discussed, chatted, and nodded in agreement like never before. It's been great. ScienceGrrl is growing from a calendar production team, to an executive committee supported by a wider network of (predominantly) female scientists who share our passion for passing our love of science, technology, engineering, and maths to the next generation.

The question ringing in all our minds now is, what next? Through all these conversations, and our consultation process (which you can still contribute to here), we've identified that there are things we can do to encourage more girls to consider science and support women already in scientific careers. We'll be helping bring more young people into contact with real scientists, developing online and regional networks to encourage women already 'in the business', and continuing to raise the profile of female scientists in the media and mainstream culture. The calendar, bag, USB stick and badge sales mean we also have some money to get these things off the ground - so a big thankyou to everyone who came to us to do their Christmas shopping.

We'll be doing most of this in partnership with the awesome people we've met in the last few months. One reason for this is that we want to strengthen what is already being done and add to it, and see no point in 'competing' with the great projects and initiatives others have started. The other reason is that most of the people who have got involved with ScienceGrrl so far are science students or professional scientists, which does give us valuable personal insight and authenticity, but also means we don't have lots and lots of time to spare. We have come this far due to the efforts of hard-working volunteers and we are always looking for more. So, if you are able to donate some of your time and energy to help us do cool stuff that makes a difference in 2013, please send us a message via our website. If there's something you've started (or are desperate to start) that fits in with our aims, tell us about that too.

So, cheers m'dears. Here's to 2013 - let's go change the world.

Our Strategy Day

The alarm went off at 8.00am which, although unusual for a Saturday, was not begrudged; it was the ScienceGrrl strategy consultation day. Today we would find out what people thought of us, what we should be doing and would start thinking seriously about our future. I knew we needed to ask people what they wanted from ScienceGrrl, but that morning, the thought of asking people face-to-face still felt scary. As I made my way through an eerily quiet central London, the usual worries surfaced. Would anyone turn up? Would the equipment work? Would we be coherent? Would we get useful input?

Mmmmm, ScienceGrrl Cakes.

As the other ScienceGrrl committee members arrived with pastries, coffee and juice (choice of ‘bits’ and ‘no bits’) my nerves were settled- with such a lovely bunch of people, what could possibly go wrong? We talked calendar sales, outreach activities, bank accounts, regional chapters and of course the strategy consultation. We had a battle with the printer (which we lost), a mad dash in the rain to collect calendars, cakes, USB sticks and badges from Louise’s apartment, and we were ready.

As people started to arrive the atmosphere was mounting, people were introducing themselves and tucking into our fab ScienceGrrl-branded cakes, more chairs were needed and everyone squeezed in. We had school students, undergraduates, post grads, teachers, and a decent haul of ScienceGrrls. We were ready to go.

The discussion began with the history of ScienceGrrl, we talked about why we needed a strategy and the results of the online questionnaire. We then took it in turns to introduce ourselves and explain why we cared about ScienceGrrl. The variety of motivations was really moving, and it was refreshing to hear people talking so eloquently, sensibly and passionately about gender issues in science careers. By this point we were already well behind schedule. To make up time I took the executive decision to cut the next two items on the agenda (they can’t have been important), and we delved straight the juicy group discussions.

In the first topic we explored the ScienceGrrl vision. People were asked to discuss how they would finish the sentence “ScienceGrrl sees a world where...” and to identify what the barriers were to achieving this vision. While some people struggled to remain wholly on-topic (let’s blame it on the excitement) we got some great feedback. Some choice quotes include:

“ScienceGrrl sees a world where access to science education is not restricted by gender, race, class, sexuality or culture”

 “ScienceGrrl sees a world unrestricted by stereotype”

“ScienceGrrl sees a world where female scientists are represented in the media”

Among the barriers, we identified: Culture in schools (particularly co-ed), childcare policies, lack of role models, culture of long hours, and a lack of good quality careers advice.

We then had a super-quick break for coffee, and moved swiftly onto the next discussion topic: ‘what can ScienceGrrl Do?’ As we gulped down our hot beverages, the conversation kept rolling on at pace. The ideas for ScienceGrrl seemed almost endless, they included: a mentoring programme, work experience, networking events, members forum, careers advice, awareness/ challenging stereotypes, delivering workshops, bringing people together ... and the list goes on (and on, and on).

As we began to wrap up, the momentum of the conversation seemed to be reaching its peak. It was a shame to have to stop, but I heard people continuing to talk, and swaping contact details as we were packing up.

And then to the pub! In true ScienceGrrl fashion we ended up finishing the day chatting over a well deserved glass of red wine. Cheers!! We discussed the next steps for the strategy, what we should include, and who else we should talk to. Look out for the first draft of the strategy in the New Year; we want to hear what you think before we vote on it at the AGM in February. 

Serious Strategizing...

Although the consultation day is over, the conversation hasn’t finished. You can join us on twitter, send us an email, or fill out our survey. We won’t stop wanting to talk about this stuff for a very long time.

A message from the Post Room

UPDATE: orders made with added first class delivery before 1500 on Wednesday 19th December will be sent out for delivery before 25th.

In the words of Europa, it's the final countdown. With 15 days to Christmas, orders for ScienceGrrl calendars, bags, badges and USB sticks are coming in thick and fast. Orders received by 2359 on Thursday 15th December should be with you before 25th. We're now also offering first class delivery in case you'd like to get your festive wrapping done in advance, or you need to send your order on to someone else.

From next week we will also offer to send out your order by special delivery, which we can guarantee.

As you can probably tell, it's a busy time at Crumble Towers with all this packing up and posting. And it wouldn't be done without the work of one amazing little helper: Loki the kitten.

I hit upon the idea of using cat labour when I figured that felines don't need to be paid the minimum working wage. I could make my pet kitten Loki work all hours of the day and night and not have to pay him a penny! Genius, I thought. Here's Loki ready for the day ahead:

So first thing Loki does is to print off labels for the orders that have arrived since the last mailout. This takes quite a while, since operating a computer is pretty hard when you're a cat.

Next, Loki will stuff the appropriate number of calendars and other goodies into our envelopes, taking extra care not to chew on them. Apparently just sniffing them is enough...

To pass the time while envelope stuffing, Loki watches old TV programmes. His current favourite is Thundercats.  Once all the envelopes are stuffed, and the labels stuck on, it's time to go down to the post office. Unfortunately, Loki isn't allowed outside because he's only 16 weeks old, so I have to do this bit.

At night Loki guards the calendars from would-be intruders, so that they're ready for the next mailout. Sometimes he falls asleep on top of them and I can hear him mumbling "I'll get you next time, Thor." Thor is the name of our next door neighbour's golden retriever.

So remember: you still have plenty of time to order your ScienceGrrl goodies before Christmas. We have a first class delivery option that means even if you leave it to next week, you'll get your order before 25th.

Festive greetings, everyone. Now, where's my mug of mulled wine gone?

Hopefully, with the help of groups like ScienceGrrl, this can change

Here's the second of our guest blogs from a female A-level science student, Becky Maggs. Thanks very much to her for her honesty - we're honoured that she's found ScienceGrrl an encouragement and inspiration.

"There's a lot of pressure for everyone at A-levels. This isn't helped when you're the only girl in a class full of boys. I'm eighteen, and taking maths, chemistry and physics, and I'm writing about what it's like. 

The reason I take these mainly male-dominated subjects is because I really enjoy them. And I mean really, like go to lectures outside school and tutor other students, like it. I think this is the one thing that kept me going where all my other female peers gave-up. I used to be in a 20-strong class, with 2 other girls. It's now gone down to half that size, with only one girl left. Me. I wouldn't say anyone was sexist as such, but I'm definitely treated differently than my male-counterparts.

I get congratulated a lot by women I meet, expressing their surprise, and a well-meaning 'good luck', which is less than reassuring. What's even worse is when you hear this from people who've gone the same path as you, and who now work in unrelated areas. Like the school librarian for example. When taking out some school books, she said 'it's so nice to see a girl in science'. I made the compulsory noises and smiled. She then went on to tell me about how she did the same subjects. Some background on my librarian, she's a moody woman who goes around telling people of her past opportunities. This is not how I want to end up! What does she aim to do, provide a role model for me? 

I've also got to be a bit more careful about what say or do. I made a dirty joke the other day, and after a minute of silence, the whole class burst out laughing and the teacher said 'Trust the only girl in the class to bring the tone down'. Then the next lesson, when doing a class experiment, a peer gave me something to clean, and someone else, rather loudly remarked 'Have you actually just told the only girl in the class to do the cleaning up?'. Cue everyone turning round to gauge my reaction. This makes things difficult for me, as if I act too calmly about it, it will become routine, but if I over-react, I become the stressy girl. I just blushed and carried on. These are just examples of how things affect me, normally the physics class runs normally. 

The main thing that gets me about these STEM subjects is that I know many girls who would do better than me in the subjects, and could easily be top of the class, and yet have chosen to do English and Humanities, where they haven't actually graded as well. The girls who do take these subjects often drop out early on, despite the fact that they are getting good grades. 

Hopefully, with the help of groups like ScienceGrrl, this can change".

Mission Discovery & ScienceGrrl

We're very excited about the projects that we will be able to invest in using the proceeds from the sale of the ScienceGrrl calendar 2013. We currently have a consultation open to help guide what we should be doing, but have already committed to one particular project - we'll be funding a team of 6 (4 girls, 2 boys) from a school in Tower Hamlets to attend the Mission Discovery summer school at King's College next summer. One of the teachers at the school we are working with has described this as a 'once in a life-time opportunity'.

I asked Mission Discovery to provide a blog outlining the wonderful experience that awaits these young people, and they kindly sent me this:

"ScienceGrrl is to support a team of four girls and two boys at next year’s Mission Discovery at one of the world’s top 30 universities, King’s College in London. Mission Discovery will enable young people to work with and be accompanied by former NASA astronaut and Space Shuttle Commander Ken Ham, former Director of NASA’s Kennedy Space Centre Jay Honeycutt, Lead NASA Astronaut Trainer Michelle Ham and a range of NASA and biomedical scientists. The Mission Discovery programme is organised by the International Space School Educational Trust. (www.isset.org)

During the week-long programme, the young people will work in teams to come up with an idea to be carried out in space. The best idea will be selected, built by ISSET and launched to the International Space Station (ISS). The winning experiment from last year’s programme is an investigation on the effectiveness of antibiotics in space, which will be carried out on the ISS in April and May 2013.

Fantastic role models: A Presentation from Lead NASA Astronaut Trainer, Michelle Ham

It is great for us to support Mission Discovery as it allows young people to develop a range of skills such as NASA leadership and team building, how to be creative, encourages them to fulfil their dreams and ambitions and teaches them how space exploration benefits the earth. The programme also highlights the environment of space, the experience of being in space, what makes a great experiment and much more. The whole programme is orientated to inculcate the NASA “you can do it” spirit.

Girls have done remarkably well in the Mission Discovery programmes. The winning team in last year’s programme included boys and girls from Morpeth School in Tower Hamlets, Gumley House Convent School in Middlesex and Hampton School, also in Middlesex. Whilst the top prize at the first Mission Discovery at Imperial College in London went to the all girl team pictured below.

The programme has amazingly received 100% positive feedback. Here are some of the comments we’ve received:

Students:

“It was great to learn from all those experienced people, and it was a nice surprise that our experiment won…thanks for an amazing experience!!” Emily Yeomans

“Working with all the experts was so inspirational and such a unique experience - nothing else even comes close” Serena Yuen, age 17

“The week was simply incredible, I learnt a lot whilst enjoying it at the same time. Thank you to everyone involved.” Sara Rasul, age 14

Leaders:

“Mission Discovery was, by far, the most comprehensive, interesting, and educational endeavour I have been involved with.”

Mike McCulley - Former NASA Astronaut and President of United Space Alliance.

“I really wish there had been a programme like this for me to attend when I was in high school.”

Michelle Ham - NASA Lead Astronaut Trainer

All hail Suzi, Queen of Science Blogging

Here at ScienceGrrl HQ, aka Crumble Towers, we would like to thank the Good Thinking Society and Soho Skeptics for awarding Suzi Gage on behalf of ScienceGrrl the joint-first place prize for people who can write good and do other good stuff too. ScienceGrrl is delighted that this award goes to our month of April. Like Simon Cowell to Olly Murs, Alexandra Burke and that cute one who Cheryl Cole clearly fancied but was basically too old for it to not be weird, we feel we have nurtured Suzi to the point at which she was able to connect meaningfully to her readership, make Ben Goldacre's favourite data analysis tool seem mildly interesting and use apostrophes correctly.

We we would like to thank our mums, dads, agents, the people who printed our awesome calendar, which you can buy here at the lowlow price of just £12, the staff at Caledonian Road Post Office and producer Louise's pet cat Loki, who has a few words to say here:

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To celebrate Suzi's our success, we are removing the cost of postage and packaging from our calendars for 12 hours only*. Shop while it's hot!

In all seriousness, huge congratulations to Suzi Gage, who is a PhD student at the University of Bristol and who has just been awarded joint first place in the first UK Science Blog Prize for her blog 'Sifting the Evidence'. Suzi is our Miss April and we are very proud of her. David Colquhoun was her co-winner. He is not in the ScienceGrrl calendar.

*From 1200 to 2359 on Monday 26 November.