Celebrating our Women in Science

“We hope our booklet inspires interest and contributes to a future generation of female scientists”

To mark the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, the James Hutton Institute is highlighting its ‘Women in Science’ booklet, which spotlights the roles of 21 of its 204 female scientists. The collection illustrates some of the vast array of interesting, rewarding and appealing types of work, areas of research and careers that science and social sciences can offer.

Professors Deb Roberts and Lesley Torrance, Directors of Science, say in the booklet’s introduction: “Being a scientist is a way of making a difference and improving people’s lives. It is generally accepted that research and scientists are crucial in providing solutions to global challenges like climate change, or food insecurity.

“However, science is not always considered as a potential career and women remain under-represented in many science areas. Some of the women featured here have moved across or between science disciplines as opportunities and interests have evolved, while others have chosen to become specialists in their field.

“We hope it inspires interest and contributes to a future generation of female scientists.”

The fully-flickable publication is available at https://www.hutton.ac.uk/publications/hutton-women-science and the hard copy has been popular with careers advisors, schools and organisations keen to encourage girls and young women towards science courses and careers.

Back in 2014, the James Hutton Institute was one of the first organisations of its kind to have been awarded Athena SWAN Charter status. The Athena SWAN Charter recognises commitment to advancing women's careers in science, technology, engineering, maths and medicine (STEMM) employment in academia. For more information, you can follow the Institute's Athena SWAN working group on Twitter.