How to Look Like a Scientist in a Fun Creative Costume
I’ve been the recipient of this puzzling statement made by numerous puzzled people over the course of myso-far-short, but as far as I can tell, not-so-puzzling scientific career.
During a party in my undergraduate years, a well-meaning peer said this with surprise when I revealed to her that I was graduating with a degree in biological science.
When I was struggling to find a job in my field, a recruiter relayed this to me – befuddled – as I explained to him my background and career goals.
What It Means To Be A Scientist Today
You see, I was under the impression that being a scientist is a profession in which the way you look doesn't dictate your capabilities. But perhaps this is an idealised world view; a product of being raised in a fairly progressive country by very progressive parents.
Over time, while I don’t think I'll ever understand the logic of the sentence, I'm beginning to understand the conviction with which it's said more and more.
It seems that the lack of female representation in science has crept into our collective subconscious, quietly and efficiently seeding a gender bias that manifests itself in a multitude of ways to the detriment of women.
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I was 21 when I first discovered my passion for science, and thrust myself head-first into a science degree course.Everything – from the biochemical processes of muscular contraction to the birth and death of stars – fascinated me, and fascinates me still.
I learned about Darwin, Mendel, Watson and Crick, Newton, Einstein, and Galileo. I was inspired by the rock stars of contemporary science – David Attenborough, Neil Degrasse Tyson, Brian Coxand Richard Dawkins.
It had never occurred to me that the societally designated greatsof this wide and wonderful world of science were almost exclusively men. At least, it had never occurred to me until I began hearing, as a young woman, that I didn’t appear to fit into the traditionally accepted view of what a scientist is.
Ben Lillie — Who Looks Like A Scientist?
The more I heard this, the more I wondered what it was that I wasn’t seeing. It didn’t take much to acknowledge the filter through which I and many others were seeing the world.
Science has historically been, and continues to be, a male-dominated field. Yet this is in no way for want of talented, innovativeand hard-working women. Women have always been there – on the front lines of world-changing discoveries and paradigm-shifting revelations – despite the systemic and strongly enforced suppression of their sex across institutions and industry.
With so few women – and still fewer women of colour – being widely portrayed and honoured in science and the media, society as a whole has a very skewed perspective of what a scientist looks like.
A Scientist Looks Just Like You!
The resulting negative feedback loop contributes to the continuing disparity between men and women in science – it's no coincidence that enrolment, graduation and further pursuit of scientific careers is extremely low for women.
And these gender biases are everywhere;they don’t exist solely for women in science – they exist in all historically gendered occupations. They exist for male midwives, female politicians, and stay-at-home dads. They exist as products of past or present societal values, and they're present in us all, expressed as exclusionist thinking and careless language.
We're in the unique position of being acutely cognisant of the ways in which our subconscious thoughts influence our actions. More than that, we have the ability to change our behaviour accordingly. And change is already happening.
Process Development Scientist
It's reflected in the many strong women who have mentored me and my female peers throughout our scientific educations, and who continue to do so. It's reflected in the efforts that institutions like Monash go to, to celebrate diversity and actively acknowledge the ceilings that are cracked but not yet broken. There's still progress to be made, but the ball is already rolling –we just have to maintain the momentum.
So with that, I leave you with a challenge: reflect on your own subconscious biases and how they shape what you say and do. Make the active choice to interact with them in a constructive way.
Be aware of using exclusionist language such as“You don’t look like an x”, or “She doesn’t seem like a y”, and shift to a more inclusive way of thinking.
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It's these subtle but extremely powerful ways of ejecting bias from the conversation that will allow us to keep moving forward towards a truly inclusive society, where there’s no such thing as lookinglike a scientist.
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You may republish this article online or in print under our Creative Commons licence. You may not edit or shorten the text, you must attribute the article to Monash , and you must include the author’s name in your republication.To that end, a project called “I Am A Scientist” is giving middle and high school students the opportunity to interact with modern-day researchers — breaking down barriers like race, gender, and personal interests. It provides teachers with toolkits containing stories, posters, and career resources showcasing 22 scientists’ range of personalities, backgrounds, pathways, and passions. Many of those portrayed have Harvard connections.
“I think that a lot of us have gone onto Google search images and the first thing that comes up when you search for a scientist is a caricature of an old white man with maybe tufts of white hair on the side and glasses falling off his nose, ” said Ayanna Thomas, a Tufts psychologist featured in the project.
Think Like A Scientist
The spark for the project came in 2016 when Nabiha Saklayen, Ph.D. ’17, wrote a blog post about not fitting into society’s dated ideas of what a physicist looks like, drawing the attention of her longtime friend, Stephanie Fine Sasse, founder and director of educational design studio The Plenary. The women found that they had faced many similar challenges, despite coming from different fields and backgrounds. Their commitment to reducing the barriers for future generations combined with their belief that STEM benefits from diversity birthed the initiative.
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“I have a black belt in Taekwondo. When I was in high school, I was on the pole vaulting team. I am driven by a deep desire to help others. Sometimes I talk in my sleep. I believe that all people have a fundamental right to health care.”
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Her work: During the Zika epidemic, Al-Alusi met with communities hardest hit by the virus, using data and mathematical models to keep them safe and healthy.
Background: Al-Alusi was born in California but her parents emigrated from Iraq. This experience provided her with an understanding of the health needs of the immigrant community.
“I’m a huge sports fan. I study animals that can regrow their brains. I’ve traveled to 40+ countries. I’m a licensed scuba diver but a terrible swimmer. I moved to the U.S. at 8 and couldn’t speak the language. I hated science in high school.”
What Does A Scientist Look Like? Project By Aprotonicpointofview
His work: Amamoto studies the tiny but amazing brains of animals that have a superpower — the ability to regenerate. He learns what factors help these special brains regrow, so that we can try to treat diseases like Parkinson’s and damage like concussions in the human brain by regrowing or reconnecting our own lost neurons.
He wants to know: How is it possible for some animals to regenerate organs? Can we find a way for humans to regenerate their own brains?
Background: Amamoto lived in Japan until age 8 when his family moved to Chicago. He had to overcome a language barrier and shift between speaking English at school and Japanese at home. The youngest of three siblings, he was always competitive and got involved in basketball and volleyball.
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“I love playing soccer. I got in trouble a lot in school. I was born in Brazil but grew up in London. Playing music or video games helps me relax. I’m shy around new people. I study the human brain so we can better understand ourselves.”
His work: Braga uses fMRI, which is a tool that lets us see the structure of the brain and how active different parts of the brain are when we’re doing different things, like daydreaming, math, or looking at pictures of other people. He looks for patterns that can tell us which parts of the brain communicate with each other, which we call a “network.”
He wants to know: How is the brain organized? How do different parts of the brain
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