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The Wonder of… Bluedot 2023!
This year we return, again, to the Star Field overlooked by the Lovell Telescope for three days of chat, laughs, and interactive demos for all ages as part of Bluedot Festival. Our theme this year is “The Wonder Of…” On Friday, we will studying the “The Wonder of the Tiny” – looking at molecules and…
Read MoreSymmetries: A Zine about Science & The Arts
Symmetries is a zine all about the interconnections between physics and the arts. As a full time physicist and part time illustrator, I have always been passionate about communicating the similarities between physics and the arts. Zines are typically small-circulation self-published works that convey a niche topic – I thought that a zine would be…
Read MoreThe Unbreakable Bonds between Physics and The Arts
It’s often thought that science and art are polar opposites. At school, the methodical way scientific subjects are taught couldn’t be more different from the teaching of creative subjects. In fact, it was back in school that I remember trying to work out if I was a “scientifically-minded” or “creatively-minded” person, convinced that I couldn’t…
Read More“Well behaved women seldom make history” – Jess Wade reports back on #ICWIP2017
The International Conference on Women in Physics (ICWIP) is a triennial meeting that looks to “understand the severe under-representation of women worldwide and to develop strategies to increase their participation in physics”. The first was held in Paris in 2002 and 2017 marked its first return to Europe (while we’re still in Europe, I’m going…
Read MoreA stellar Starmus? Tanya Urrutia reports
I am Tanya Urrutia, an astronomer at the Leibniz Institut fuer Astrophysik, in Potsdam, Germany. I work on the role of black holes and quasars in galaxy evolution. This week I attended Starmus IV in Trondheim, Norway. It is a festival celebrating astrophysical science and music and the role both of them play in society.…
Read MoreScienceGrrl reviews: Inferior by Angela Saini
When the Observer wanted a story on the origins of the menopause; it wasn’t exactly surprising that they asked a woman to research it. What they may not have been anticipating was that instead, the author would become so fascinated by her findings that she would turn it into a book. Angela Saini is an…
Read More100 Years of the Medical Women’s Federation: The Past, Present and Future
This week, we welcome Sarah McLoughlin of the Medical Women’s Federation, to tell us more about their work and events to mark their centenary next month: “Recently released stats by the GMC reveal that in 2017, 46% of registered doctors in the UK are now women and, with women also making up 55% of all…
Read MoreRaising Dauntless Daughters
We’re tremendously excited to host this guest blog from Steph Green, founder of Dauntless Daughters. Steph lives in the West Midlands with her husband and two children, and believes the world would be a better place if we were surround by images and stories that showed our daughters how amazing women are. So she founded Dauntless Daughters, a…
Read MoreTiring of Twenty
For the past 30 years, girls have made up only 20 % of physics A-Level classrooms. Women make up only 9 % of professional engineers and only 11 % of physics professors. Dr Jess Wade reports back with some new, and very good news, from the launch of the Improving Gender Balance report from the Institute of…
Read MoreSend #WomenInSTEM around the globe
To mark the UN International Day of Women and Girls in Science, we present <insert drum roll here> this guest blog from Alice Gray, science blogger, creator of Gray Matter and the driving force behind some limited edition goodies which are being sold in aid of ScienceGrrl: “You have brains in your head. You have feet…
Read MoreReflections on #womensmarchlondon
On Saturday 21 January 2017 – the day after Donald Trump became President of the United States – hundreds of thousands of people across the globe stood up for women’s rights and equality. Our @annazecharia was at the London march. The photos which accompany this post are by Louise Morris. Find her as @LouMorrisPhoto on…
Read MoreLancashire Science Festival – Draw a Scientist
For the last 4 years, ScienceGrrl has been delighted to participate in Lancashire Science Festival at the University of Central Lancashire (UCLAN) in Preston. The festival comprises talks, shows, and a packed show floor of exhibitors who showcase science to local school children over two days, and then to over 10,000 members of the public…
Read MoreWhat does a physicist look like?
In April, the Institute of Physics (IoP) released the results of a survey of their membership, entitled ‘What does a Physicist Look Like?’ The results represent 13% of IoP members, which doesn’t sound like many, but interestingly the age profile mirrors the known profile of the membership. Even more interestingly, 44% of respondents were under 29…
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Create a step change – demand 50:50
For decades the numbers of women in science and engineering professions have remained depressingly stagnant, with percentages hovering limply in the single figures. Despite significant investment in media campaigns, outreach activities, and educational programmes aimed at women- many are still scratching their head as to why nothing is changing. Although the reasons for under-representation are…
Read MoreUntold Stories – Setting the Record Straight
Our network of ScienceGrrl members runs to over 400 nationwide. Where possible, we link our members with local chapters, headed up by enthusiastic chapter leads. Chapters provide opportunities for informal networking, peer support, and grass-roots activism and public engagement, often in partnership with local initiatives. This post is the second of a short series by…
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Returning to STEM – because science is for everybody
This is a guest post by Gabriele Butkute, Science Policy Assistant at the Royal Society of Biology. In the midst of a skills shortage in STEM we need to look carefully for potential sources of talent. One of the potential options is to access and acknowledge those who for one reason or another have been…
Read MoreMeet Fatima: Stories of social exclusion & science
This week we at Science Grrl are delighted to bring you a guest post from Emily Dawson, on the particular issues for young women at the intersections of class and race. What happens when being passionate about science isn’t enough to help you do science stuff? I first met Fatima in 2010 as part of…
Read MoreOtotheB : app for girls in STEM and entrepreneurship, brought to you by Stemettes
Our sisters in STEM over at Stemettes have released a fab new app, OtotheB, designed to create a global online platform for girls interested in STEM and entrepreneurship. It is free to download from the Google Play and iTunes stores. It gives girls access to: “Motivation Mondays”: Access to exclusive interviews with inspiring women in STEM, and the chance to…
Read MoreScience, parenting, and resisting easy answers
Today, to mark International Women’s Day, I took part in an event organised by the University of Manchester’s Faculty of Life Sciences entitled “Becoming the Best”. I joined a panel discussion in which 5 women with STEM degrees talked about their career paths and what had helped them along the way, then took questions from the…
Read MoreAlison Diaper – on Brain Stimulation and True Inspiration
Alison Diaper is at the forefront of the NHS, quietly but confidently working behind the scene to improve our scientific knowledge. She is studying a range of drugs including hypnotics, anxiety inhibitors, antidepressants and drugs that inhibit pain. She is also working to improve deep brain stimulation (DBS) therapies and systems. In this interview with ScienceGrrl’s Jessica Simpson, Alison takes some…
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