Every day across campus, women in science are accomplishing great and amazing things: overcoming obstacles, realizing their goals, and contributing in positive ways to our shared scientific community. Ask us why we decided to pursue science, and you will likely hear a myriad of reasons as diverse as the students you ask. Here are some of our stories:
Growing up in a small rural town, I wasn’t exposed to many people with backgrounds in science, aside from high school teachers and healthcare professionals. As the ratio between male and female scientists was fairly equal in my experiences, I didn’t recognize the gender differences in science until I reached university. I remember noticing in first year biology that nearly every major theory we discussed was attached to men’s names, such as Carl Linnaeus, Charles Darwin, Gregor Mendel, just off the top of my head. In a class last week, three more men were acknowledged as we discussed temperature scales: Daniel Fahrenheit, Anders Celsius, and William Thomson (Lord Kelvin). While it might be easy to feel intimidated and powerless as a woman in science, with our scales, units of measurements, and theories we base our entire studies on are founded or named after men, I feel grateful. I am grateful that I am alive and studying science in a time when half of my classes are taught by female faculty. I am grateful that although I can name only a few fundamental theories accredited to female scientists, I can name 50 female scientists I’ve met while attending Western University that have empowered and inspired me. I am grateful that I can be a role model and help break down some of the glass ceilings for my younger sister and other girls who are excited at the idea of studying science. Women may not have been recognized for their contributions to science in the past, but the inclusion and empowerment of female scientists today will have a profound positive impact on science in the future.
Gabrielle Hatten
Environmental Science
Decorating the walls of my grade nine science class were approximately 50 plaques dedicated to a handful of the previous winners of the Nobel Prize for Chemistry. Being 14 and extremely good at math, I was disappointed that upon closer inspection, I noticed that only three of the plaques were dedicated to women. One name in particular stuck in my mind: Marie Curie. When I got home that night, I did some research and found out that she had won two Nobel Prizes, as well as becoming the first female professor at the Sorbonne. Learning about her success made me forget the disappointment I had felt earlier and instead overwhelmed me with inspiration. Marie Curie accomplished these great feats at the beginning of the 20th century – what was stopping me from realizing similar goals nearly a century later? It made me believe I could pursue any career I wanted to – especially in the sciences. Six years later, I am starting my third year of actuarial science and I still reminisce of that day when Marie Curie reminded me that as women, we can achieve any goals we have.
Megan Wismer
Actuarial Science
As a young child, I already developed a deep passion for science. My third grade science teacher saw this strong interest in me and she invited me to join science clubs at my school. As I continued to explore the sciences in High school, I was fortunate enough to have teachers in the science department that were female mentors to me, as they offered encouragement to further my studies in the science field. Although I am a woman in a male-dominated discipline, I feel empowered by science because I can investigate predictions, address scientific questions, and explore the unknown. Being one of the few girls in my High school science classes actually made me proud that I was pursuing my passion, despite stereotypes for women in the workplace.
In my graduating year, I completed a co-op position in the Maternal and Child Unit at Joseph Brant Hospital. I worked alongside females in various areas in the healthcare field, including nursing, medicine, research, physical therapy, and psychiatry. This opened my eyes to more possibilities than I had imagined for women in science, as I presumed that men have more opportunities. However, after working in a hospital setting, I have learned that women are the power source of the healthcare field. At my grade 12 graduation, I was given the honour to receive the ‘All-Around Science’ award, which gave me the confidence that women are powerful voices in the science community. I am grateful for the women who have encouraged me to further my education in science. Furthermore, I am in the midst of completing my undergrad in a pre-medical program, in which less than half a century ago, women were not granted the same opportunities that we have today. I believe that empowered women in science stems from education, which fuels the future. Throughout history, we have seen the effects of empowered women in science on the world stage. From Marie Currie to Rosalind Franklin, it is evident that ‘women in science’ is not solely an issue regarding social equality, rather the development of the science world is incomplete without the brilliant minds of women. Women need empowerment and science needs women.
Hannah Martin
Medical Sciences