• Question: Do you find it harder being a female scientist than a male scientist?

    Asked by anon-232120 to Laura, Kasia, Gina on 13 Nov 2019.
    • Photo: Laura Sinclair

      Laura Sinclair answered on 13 Nov 2019:

      There are a distinct lack of female physicists. At university there were only 15 females on my course compared to 90 males! However, it did mean we did bond well! In medical physics the ratios tend to be around 50:50 region, but in management and the higher positions that ratio changes.

      Throughout my career I have dealt with a lot of bias. When I gave answers in tutorials, a lot of the time my answers were under a lot of scrutiny by the male physicists but luckily my tutor noticed this and defended me. The is still sexism in the field, as demonstrated last year by a male scientist who made headlines last year by making ridiculous statements.

      Throughout my career I have been told that I don’t look a physicist, or seem like a physicist which can be frustrating. However, I love what I do and did well throughout my degrees. Hopefully together as a society we can keep improving things!

    • Photo: Kasia Clarke

      Kasia Clarke answered on 14 Nov 2019:

      I work in a group of people at a University where the its 60% male, 40% female PhD students which for Physics is pretty well balanced and that’s a great thing, but as you get higher up the ladder that goes down to 0% females in the group which is something that Science in industry and academia is trying to change. I’ve never found it more difficult to be a woman in science, but it does worry me that while the industry wants to hire more women to improve the gender balance, that it doesn’t mean I will be hired just because I am a woman or that’s what others will think.

Comments