Professor Tracy Kivell has been interviewed in a special issue of the digital magazine Womanthology dedicated to Soapbox Science, an organisation that highlights the research of women scientists into public engagement.
In the article, Professor Kivell champions gender equality in science by challenging prehistoric attitudes and behaviours through public engagement activities such as Soapbox Science: “The aim…to reach people who might not normally seek out a ‘science event’ is particularly important in showing the world that scientists are just normal, curious men and women who happen to know quite a bit about a particular topic.”
She uses her four year-old daughter as an example of how societal stereotypes influence developing attitudes when she told her mother that “Girls can’t be doctors. Only boys can be doctors. Girls are nurses” despite both of her parents being scientists.
“My advice for girls and women who are interested in careers in science is: Go for it!,” encourages Professor Kivell. “You can do anything you want to do! Science is just as much for girls as it is for boys, and science only benefits from a greater diversity of perspectives.”
The inaugural Soapbox Science Canterbury event will be in Westgate Gardens on Saturday 23rd June from 13:00 to 16:00. There will be twelve female speakers talking about our brains and teeth, bacteria and chimpanzees, breathing and fascia, planets and plants. The event is free and all are welcome to attend. More details can be found here.