The Wheeler Centre
View all episodes in this series
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 a widely published Australian writer of Afro-Caribbean descent. Maxine's short fiction, non-fiction and poetry have been published in numerous publications including Overland, the Age, Meanjin, the Saturday Paper and the Big Issue. Her critically acclaimed short fiction collection Foreign Soil won the ABIA for Literary Fiction Book of the Year 2015 and the 2015 Indie Book Award for Debut Fiction, and was shortlisted for the Matt Richell Award for New Writing at the 2015 ABIAs and the 2015 Stella Prize. She was also named as one of the Sydney Morning Herald's Best Young Novelists for 2015.

The Wheeler Centre
Subscribe to the Wheeler Centre's podcast to hear full recordings of our talks – featuring the best in books, writing and ideas.