New Horizons: Women in STEMM

As only 29% of the scientists worldwide are women, according to the UNESCO Institute for Statistics, they are still the undeniable minority more than 180 years after Ada Lovelace became the first ever computer programmer and more than 80 years after Marie Curie completed her groundbreaking research on radioactivity.

Women in science back then were the minority and the fact that they still are is an archaic and unfortunate tradition in our modern reality. One of the initiatives worldwide combatting this precise problem is Homeward Bound, a growing group of women in Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Medicine (STEMM) who are fighting gender inequity across their fields through a yearlong programme of research and development that culminates in a three week expedition to Antarctica.

Antarctica is a striking choice as a meeting place at the conclusion of the programme year. The Southern-most continent is invaluable to environmental and wildlife research as it is the most pristine region on Earth. Seventy percent of the terrestrial freshwater is held there in a frozen state, so changes that happen in Antarctica, such as the increasing speed of ice sheets melting, affect the rest of planet significantly. M2woman got in touch with Homeward Bound co-founder Fabian Dattner, who described it as both “compelling and dramatic, remote and intimidating, exquisitely beautiful and utterly daunting.” She deeply believes in the impact that the voyage has, convinced that “No one goes to Antarctica and comes away unchanged”.

Dattner dreamed up and carried out the actions that brought about the project. The Australian leadership expert was concerned about the inequity in leadership roles and the world left behind for future generations, so she took her dream to Dr Jess Melbourne Thomas at the Australian Antarctic Division and the project evolved into a plan for reality from there. Two years later, there was a team of specialists in the skills of leadership, science, strategy and visibility who volunteered their time and expertise to a venture that they had confidence in. Now accepting applications for its fourth year, which is set to be its largest group yet with 100 women, Homeward Bound is continuing to move towards its goal of achieving an international presence and network. Dattner envisages “a global collaboration of 1,000 women, deeply committed and connected, working for the greater good, in roles that influence policy and decision making, by 2026.”

Another woman at the forefront of the operation, whom we spoke to, is Dr. Mary-Anne Lea, a Science Programme Coordinator and co-founder of Homeward Bound. She is an Associate Professor of Marine Predator Ecology at the Institute for Marine & Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania. Her work is concentrated on animal behaviour and interactions with a conservation focus and she believes that the project is important to help STEMM women all over the globe “navigate the rigors of their gender-biased workplaces in order to be able to continue to use their valuable skills” and “help all in understanding the need for inclusivity in science and leadership at all levels.”

Participant Amanda Kirk, an Environmental and Humanitarian engineer at WSP Opus, also shared her experience. The only Kiwi on the 2018 voyage, Kirk applied for the programme after finding that it linked the important themes of gender equity, climate change, leadership and science together, as well as the bonus of fulfilling her lifelong dream of visiting Antarctica. Aside from the Homeward Bound team and participants, the initiative has backing from influential and accomplished women worldwide including from Christiana Figueres, former UN Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate change and Jane Goodall, British primatologist and environmental activist.

The issue at hand is formidable because it is statistically evident and there is a seemingly endless list of causes and consequences that need to be tackled for change. Lea reasons that, “Perhaps a combination of historical encouragement to follow certain career paths and the inherent gender bias that still exists in many STEMM workplaces,” has caused the inequity and similarly, Kirk likens the situation to a cycle that perpetuates antiquated gender roles. Dattner believes that the large systemic barriers engrained in the STEMM domain are “the way in which research grants are given, the cost to women of having children, the failure in academia, in particular, to recognise the institutions are outdated and significantly biased to men.” Systematic changes that continually plague women can result in a situation in which “women – can end up believing, as a result of feeling voiceless, or being abused, or not seen, that we are the problem,” according to Dattner. This thought that women feel voiceless is backed by research done by Dr Heather Ford from the University of Cambridge that was published in the Nature Communications Journal, which concluded that men are more likely to offer speaking opportunities to other men over women, rendering the gender minority less audible.

Even in most elaborate of problems, there are plenty of solutions for those willing to acknowledge and face the problems with action. This is precisely what Homeward Bound is doing. “The journey is not always comfortable,” explains Dattner, “But I think it builds towards the change we all want, STEMM or otherwise.” The Homeward Bound philosophy is to teach and advance the science, strategy, visibility and leadership skills for the STEMM women to be equipped with the expertise necessary to take on leadership and senior management roles in their given fields. The goal of reaching senior roles within the STEMM structure is a significant one as Kirk revealed that only three percent of engineering New Zealand fellows are women. Each of the four themes has been chosen as they are capabilities of an all-rounder. Lea explains that “As scientists advance in their careers, they need to be highly proficient across all four themes and yet many have never had formal training, except in science”. The experts of the project team encompass the four themes: the visibility team aims to give everyone a “global digital strategy” to give the women a platform to become more visible, the science team has constructed a “Science Symposium at Sea” allowing women to present their work, the strategy experts “develop and design a personal strategy process” for women to take back with them and the leadership experts teach women to be more comfortable and proficient in their leadership skills. It is not only the skills but also a strong network that the women leave with to empower them in their professional futures.

The impact of the Homeward Bound project on each participant is not easy to sum up as there is news of past participants earning leadership positions and being increasingly recognised in their organisations reaching the team on a day-to-day basis. There are a lot of other indicators that attest to the deep impression that the project has made globally. Dattner gave us an impressive rundown of the most visible outcomes. There are more than 30 collaborations worldwide as a result of the network created, including papers about resilient leadership and a pending paper about the ecological sustainability of the project and Antarctic voyage. A series of talks in schools and on the TED stage have been given internationally. The media was especially interested in Spain, where the participants were “national sensations” as well as in Mexico with Sandra Guzman, the programme’s first Mexican participant, garnering roughly 150 press interviews upon return. Homeward Bound itself has been put forward for the United Nations Momentum for change award. When asked about the success that her idea has achieved, Dattner replied “People will often say you must feel proud of the success of the programme, and I then say no. I feel compelled by what we’ve learnt – all of us – to keep going”.

The Homeward Bound team and alumna are united in challenging the norms of gender inequity in STEMM and they encourage you to celebrate the successes of women around you while being vigilant in your own workplace. Lea is convinced that “Awareness is key. Observing, naming and then changing all inequities in our workplaces, and lives more broadly, is critical if we are to have the society and future to which we aspire.”