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The F Word: Science
Scientific research and development have helped arm the case for gender equality – and in some cases, advances in science have helped escape gender-based pigeonholes and restrictions. (Think: the development of The Pill and its role in women’s liberation.) But science can also work to entrench prejudice, with studies interpreted to back up long-held assumptions of inherent differences (and differing abilities) according to gender. And science is still largely dominated by men, despite recent efforts to encourage women into the field.
What are the experiences of women working in science? Is there a new generation of scientists interested in equality? And what are the concerns and focuses for feminists in science?
Maxine Beneba Clarke speaks with Kate White, Sharon Lewin and Katie Mack to find out.
Who?
Sharon Lewin
Leading infectious diseases expert, Professor Sharon Lewin, is the inaugural Director of the Doherty Institute, as well as a Professor of Medicine at The University of Melbourne and a National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Practitioner Fellow.
Professor Lewin is also the Chief Investigator of a NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence, The Australian Partnership for Preparedness Research on Infectious Diseases Emergencies, that aims to bring together Australia’s leading experts to address the key components required for an emergency response to infectious diseases.
Katie Mack
Dr Katherine (Katie) Mack is a theoretical cosmologist. Her work focuses on finding new ways to learn about the early universe and fundamental physics using astronomical observations, probing the building blocks of nature by examining the cosmos on the largest scales.
Kate White
Kate White is an internationally recognised researcher on gender and higher education. She is Adjunct Associate Professor at Federation University Australia and Co-director of the nine-country research consortium, the Women in Higher Education Management Network.
Maxine Beneba Clarke
Maxine Beneba Clarke is the ABIA and Indie award winning author of over nine books for adults and children, including the critically acclaimed short fiction collection Foreign Soil, the bestselling memoir The Hate Race, the Victorian Premier’s Award winning poetry collection Carrying the World, and the Boston Globe/Horn Prize winning picture book The Patchwork Bike, illustrated by Van T. Rudd.
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