Promoting gender equality
Katrina is a chemistry student and our first Women in Science ambassador, encouraging more young women to study STEM-related subjects.
After living in Hong Kong for seven years, Katrina began her undergraduate degree in chemistry at Loughborough and is staying on to pursue a postgraduate master's programme. As Women in Science ambassador, she writes blogs and social media posts, meets prospective students and parents at open days and visit days, and has been involved in projects such as the School of Science's Athena SWAN Award self-assessment panel to tackle gender inequalities.
Addressing current issues
STEM has always been, and continues to be, one of the biggest areas that has the largest gender disparities. Science has repeatedly excluded women and discouraged them from being involved, with the example most people know of being Rosalind Franklin not getting her much deserved credit for the discovery of the structure of DNA.
This is just one of many ways women have been treated in the field, and these biases can range from sexist comments, to leaving a female co-worker out of an email, or commenting on her clothing. Since making progress over the last few decades, the number of women fighting to join science has increased significantly. This is obviously a huge step in the right direction, but it’s not just about increasing intake - it’s also about ensuring that once women are in science, they are treated equally and not driven out.
Educating on these biases (no matter how big or small) will help create the positive environment we all deserve to study and work in and ensure that anyone with an interest in science gets the opportunity to explore it. After all, how are we meant to develop our scientific knowledge and tackle global problems by excluding half the population?
Relatable role models
Our influences into what we do start from a really young age, so having the right kind of role models and seeing people like yourself is so important. For me, this was having two incredibly enthusiastic and passionate female chemistry teachers in secondary school. They gave me all the support and encouragement I needed to really fall in love with the subject, but unfortunately we don’t all have the right people in our lives. That’s why I’m hoping to be one of them by becoming Loughborough University’s first Women in Science ambassador in 2018.
In this role, I get to speak to prospective students about any worries they have about studying at Loughborough, whether that’s about the course or general student life. I write blog posts about what it’s like here, and we’ve just set up our social media channels to post more content and be more interactive.
In the last year I’ve also had opportunities to work on school visits and this is something I’m looking forward to doing more, as I really believe the younger you start this positive influence, the better. Everything I’ve been involved in has been really rewarding and I’m so proud to (hopefully) set the precedent to build this support and open up the conversation to keep making this change in science.
A brighter future
As equity, diversity and inclusivity (EDI) continues to become a big part of companies and institutions, I’m hoping more will be done on a larger scale to implement systemic changes that will include women more and make their opportunity to pursue science the same as anyone else. The University has already made a big change themselves by introducing their first Pro Vice-Chancellor for EDI who will support the individual schools in their needs and commit to making meaningful actions.
While these efforts are great, smaller individual changes can also make an impact and the more we speak up about it and make others aware (particularly our male friends and colleagues), the more we can do and change the narrative. I’m hoping that as these changes arise, there will be fewer barriers and the future of women in science becomes much less scary and far more promising. Hopefully, by eliminating this bias, we can also work towards taking these positive changes and using them to help other minorities make their place in science, so that everyone can truly reach their full potential!
