Australia had installed more renewable generation infrastructure in the three years leading up to 2020 than the thirty years prior. While these are positive steps, Australia also has the highest per-capita greenhouse gas emissions of any other advanced economy, and is nowhere near close to reaching its Paris Agreement goals. Victoria’s Gas Substitution Roadmap is a step in the right direction.
Scientific research is a largely publicly funded endeavour, yet often made less accessible by jargon, academic journal paywalls, and other forms of gatekeeping. Good communication of science is imperative for evidence-based policy and a well-informed general public. Why not take it on through comedy? Both science and comedy require a willingness to adapt and tinker with ideas until things work.
When women support and uplift each other, we can overcome the isolation and discouragement that can hinder success and pave the way for future generations of women in science. As I took the incredibly scary step of moving away from the research trajectory and swapping my lab coat for science communication, it was made much easier knowing how many people were cheering me on. We truly empower one another.
While initiatives to increase the number of women studying STEM are important, it is equally important to create employment opportunities where these women can apply their learning in real-life environments. “You can’t be what you can’t see” – so if we encourage our girls to study STEM but they cannot see their mothers or other female role models working as scientists, technologists, engineers, or mathematicians, then what exactly is the point?
Real change and attainment of gender equity will only be fulfilled when government, academia – including its societies and colleges – and industry work together as a collective to drive systemic change directed by grassroots advocacy and initiatives. Solutions cannot be about fixing women, but instead need to focus on shifting the barriers and changing the fundamental ways things are done, including our ideas of what traits valuable leaders possess.
