ScienceGrrl started out as a reaction
to *that* EC video, which spawned the idea to create a series of
images representing who female scientists are and what they do –
the ScienceGrrl 2013 calendar. In the process we collected a network
of people who are passionate about passing on their love of science,
technology, engineering and mathematics to the next generation. We
could have just stopped at the calendar... but I wasn't alone in
thinking it would be a tragedy to dissolve this network of
enthusiastic volunteers, when there were other things left to do in
tackling the problems we had highlighted.
As I've said from the beginning,
ScienceGrrl isn't “mine”, it belongs to all our members. Also, I
know we are not the only ones who are working on tackling the
under-representation of women in science and complex jumble of
factors that influence that. So we went out to consultation, and
following that consultation, many phone calls, a fair amount of
head-scratching and the use of some fairly epic spreadsheets (love a
good spreadsheet, me) we came up with our strategy, which was
launched at the AGM and voted in unanimously.
You can read the strategy in all its glory here, but it was beautifully summarised at the AGM by artists
Adrian and Rachel Haak. I find these 'visual minutes' useful in terms
of helping me recall the major themes of the discussion and how they
inter-relate, but more than that, they remind me of the scale of our
ambition. It's audacious, but I find that inspiring rather than
intimidating. I particularly love how collaboration, partnership and flexibility are at the centre, represented as our DNA, with specific projects shown as additional - expressions of that definitive ethic. The whole drawing is below - click on it to enlarge.
Whilst we've big ideas and ambitions,
we're also aware than Rome (or gender equality in science) isn't
built in a day. It's important, particularly as a grassroots network
of volunteers, that we take developments at a sustainable pace. So
this year is a year of trying things out, developing collaborations,
finding out where we're most needed and the difference we're best
placed to make. And we intend to have a lot of fun doing all this cool stuff.
Watch this space.
If you'd like to fully get on board
with what we're doing, receive regular updates from me, be the first to hear about invite-only events, and eventually
(sometime this year!) gain access to a members-only discussion forum
on our website, please sign up as a ScienceGrrl member. It'll only
cost you £5 for a year and all of that will go towards resourcing
ScienceGrrl's work. For an application form, please e-mail us here
and we'll be in touch.
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