On 11 February social media was flooded with posts about women and girls working in science, including in conservation, in honour of #WomenInScienceDay.
The International Day of Women and Girls in Science is an annual event celebrating the fantastic achievements of female scientists worldwide to break down the gender gap in science and technology.
According to a forthcoming report by UNESCO, only 33 percent of researchers are women, despite the fact that they represent 45 and 55 percent of students at the Bachelor’s and Master’s levels of study, and 44 percent of those enrolled in PhD programmes. The research stresses the urgency to recognize women’s contributions in science, challenge stereotypes and defeat discrimination against women and girls in science globally.
Women are highly represented in the conservation profession with some 65% of conservators being women. Therefore it was no surprise that many of the UK’s leading heritage institutions chose to highlight the work of their female team members in conservation. The Mary Rose Trust shone a light on their Head of Conservation and Collections Care Professor Eleanor Schofield, while the Science Museum, National Archives, Tate and many others celebrated their heritage scientists and promoted how science could lead to a career in conservation.
Head over to Twitter and follow the hashtag #WomenInScienceDay to see all the day’s conversations.
