• Question: wots it like to be a woman scientist !!! xxxx

    Asked by jimbo5times to Michelle, Joanna, Jane, Fiona, William on 14 Jun 2010 in Categories: . This question was also asked by leah.
    • Photo: Michelle Murphy

      Michelle Murphy answered on 13 Jun 2010:

      Hey Jimbo and Leah
      Thats a great question. My boss is a man but since working in Nottingham he has only employed women so this is somethig I have thought a bit about. I can’t say I know what it is like to be a male scientist so my answer is a bit one sided 🙂 (William is the only person in this zone that could tell you that). I dont think being a woman in science is any different than being a woman in any other job. However qualaties such as liking to talk (about your work), meeting people, attention to detail (making good observations), patience (often science is about – try, try and try again) and making things pretty (we do alot of posters!) are quite feminine and very useful in science. There are so many interesting areas in science and if you enjoy it you could find a great job as a man or a woman.

    • Photo: Fiona Randall

      Fiona Randall answered on 14 Jun 2010:

      Hiya, that is a question that always comes up. I don’t think nowadays there is a difference between being a man or a woman in science to be honest, or I have been very lucky and never experienced one. I think like in anything, it is good to have a variety of different kinds of people working in any field and our contributions are just as important as the boys. One thing about being a woman in science is having to take time out to have a family. Science moves so fast so I imagine taking a long break would mean getting behind on all the new science (as it won’t stop and wait until you get back)! I don’t have a family but now there are lots of grants available to help people who take time out to have children to get back to the lab and people have done it so it should be ok.

    • Photo: Jane Henry

      Jane Henry answered on 14 Jun 2010:

      Not that different from being a male scientist, personally I’ve never encountered prejudice at work on grounds of gender but then I am a social scientist. There is plenty of opportunity for woman. In social science there are many woman scientists. In two of the three faculties I’ve worked at university there were more female than male Professors.

    • Photo: Joanna Brooks

      Joanna Brooks answered on 14 Jun 2010:

      Hey 🙂 For me it’s been very easy to be a women scientist! I have been fortunate enough to work with some amazing people in my field and I have always felt fully supported.

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