Women in Science have “nothing to prove”

Earlier this week, the first International Day of Women and Girls in Science was held by the United Nations. As part of the UN’s plan for a sustainable future by 2030, the goal of the day was to encourage more girls to enter STEM jobs, while celebrating the achievements of women thriving in the community.

The mantra of the day this year was ‘Parity in Science’. It would be naïve to say that inequality within STEM is not an issue; the media is awash with claims that the science industry simply does not offer the same prospects for women as it does for men. Recent statistics predict that up to a third of Australian women within STEM are set to leave the sector in the next five years, with reasons for this ranging from sexual harassment, to lack of career advancements and pay inequality.

It would be naïve to say that inequality within STEM is not an issue

Another issue that the day aimed to combat is that there are also fewer female scientists; the UN is quick to point out that men are twice as likely to graduate with a bachelor’s degree in a STEM subject than women are. Despite this, however, credit should be given to women in science who are already progressing and achieving amazing things. There are numerous awards out there for women in science, and judging panels hardly have to look very far to find plenty of candidates who are more than worthy. Many of the greatest advancements in science were and are achieved by women, from pioneering computer programming, IVF and treatments for AIDS to furthering our knowledge of dark matter and cancer.

With this in mind, as a female scientist I found it disheartening that a day aimed at celebrating the achievements of women still needed to hint at the ‘superior’ world of male-orientated science. Rather than continuing with the common theme of the negatives of being a woman in science, I wanted February 11 to promote women to venture into science not to catch up with the men, but because science is cool and women can achieve whatever the hell they want.

Many of the greatest advancements in science were and are achieved by women

The truth is, women in science have very little to prove. Women are showing every day that they have earned their place in the industry regard- less of gender. It’s about time everyone else realised that, and hopefully soon we won’t need to be allocated just one day to celebrate our achievements.