Women Changing the World Through STEM: International Women’s Day 2021
Despite progress in recent decades, gender inequality is not yet a thing of the past. While it’s all too easy to look at SDG 5: Gender Equality in isolation, the reality is that this SDG has an impact on each of the other 16 UN Sustainable Development Goals. For if only 30% of the world’s researchers are women [1] and wider societal inequalities remain, how can we expect to solve the world’s biggest challenges like global hunger, building sustainable cities, or taking climate action?
This International Women’s Day, members of our Youth STEM Matters Volunteer Team are shining the spotlight on some of their favourite women in STEM. They’re each choosing to challenge stereotypes and inequalities and are using STEM to change the world for the better.
Somaya Faruqi
Figure 1: Somaya Faruqi. Credit: Somaya Faruqi
In the province of Herat, Afghanistan, 18-year old high school student Somaya Faruqi (Figure 1) led her all-girls robotics team in producing a low-cost, lightweight ventilator in response to the COVID-19 pandemic [2]. With limited access to simple building materials, they worked around the clock [3] using locally available, second-hand car parts to assemble the device. In December 2020, the girls robotics team presented their prototype of the ventilator to the Ministry of Public Health in an effort to have it approved. At this exhibition, the Minister of Industry and Commerce donated US $10,000 to the team, as well as secured land for a factory where the ventilators will be produced. Additionally, the Ministry of Education pledged to incorporate science, technology, engineering and mathematics into the national curriculum [4].
In Afghanistan, 60 percent of the estimated 3.7 million out-of-school children are girls [5]. After having presented their prototype, the UNICEF Acting Representative, Mustapha Ben Messaoud, concluded that “everyone here today, and all over Afghanistan, will agree that investing in girls’ education is a price-tag the country can afford” [3]. This International Women’s Day, the efforts of Somaya Faruqi and the girls robotics team should not go unnoticed, because in aiding in the COVID-19 crisis, they simultaneously brought Afghanistan one step closer to gender equality.
Regina Honu
Figure 2: Regina Honu. Credit: Chickymaria, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
In Ghana, Regina Honu (Figure 2) has been working since 2012 to give Ghanaian youth the tools they need in order to succeed [6]. To achieve this, she founded her own social start-up called Soronko Solutions [7]. This has enabled her to launch a multitude of projects that encourage Ghanaian youth to get involved in STEM and to think critically. Amongst others, a project was launched that introduces deaf girls in Ghana to technology in the hopes of promoting communication in a society where the use of sign language is limited. Other projects are targeted towards aiding disabled people, as well as inviting more women into the field of technology [8]. In 2013, Soronko Solutions started a movement called Tech Needs Girls where girls and women are encouraged to lead and innovate by learning to code [9].
Regina Honu has continuously dedicated her life to gender equality, having spoken at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris on closing the gender gap in computer science, as well as at the Brookings Institute in Washington DC on advancing female entrepreneurship in Africa. In 2017, she was listed as one of BBC’s 100 most inspirational and innovative women [10].
International Women’s Day is a day in which the efforts made by women like Regina Honu can be recognized, as her continuous commitment to gender equality and indiscriminate access to education brings the world one step closer to achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.
Mariana Costa Checa
Figure 3: Mariana Costa Checa. Credit: Mariana Costa Checa
Co-founder and CEO of the social enterprise Laboratoria, Mariana Costa Checa (Figure 3) is revolutionising the technology industry. Empowering women with the necessary foundations to enter the digital workplace, Costa is alleviating gender inequalities and enhancing diversity across the sector. The organisation offers women a chance to gain economic independence and break the cycle of intergenerational poverty that is deeply integrated in many disadvantaged communities [11].
Now with five training centres across Latin America and over 1800 graduates the program is transforming the lives of the women who enrol [12]. Not only do graduates go on to earn 3x the salary they had before the program, they are trained in the skills required to keep up with the demands of a tech dominated world, enabling them to be part of an ever digitalising future.
Recognised by the BBC’s as one of the most influential women and by MIT as one of Peru’s leading innovators, Mariana has even been immortalised in Barbie form [13]. Her role as a social entrepreneur has dismissed stereotypes and stigmas surrounding women in the industry and provided a stepping stone in the fight for gender equality across the technology sector [14].
Professor Lynn Conway
Figure 4: Professor Lynn Conway. Credit: Charles Rogers, CC BY-SA 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons
A pioneer of microelectronic chip design Professor Lynn Conway (Figure 4) has transformed computing. Proposing a set of design rules for scalable VLSI (very-large-scale integration) chip-layouts, Lynn designed a systemic approach to the printing of wires and transistors onto integrated circuits [15]. She went on to write the textbook “Introduction to VLSI Systems'' and created a design course at MIT that would go on to be replicated at research universities across America [16]. However, Conway’s contribution to the computing sector was soon forgotten. Carver Mead who co-authored the VLSI textbook went on to receive awards many of which were for innovations that were solely Lynn’s and yet this wasn’t the first time she was written out of history [17].
In 1968 whilst working for IBM Lynn came out as transgender, for which she was fired and had to restart her career [18, 19]. At IBM, she had invented a powerful method to run multiple out-of-order computer instructions that would be used by almost all PC computer chips in the 1990s.
Working for most of her career in stealth mode with her past only known to a few close family members Lynn eventually came out to the public in 1999. Her incredible contribution to the computing world went unnoticed for too long. Now an activist for gender equality and employment protections for transgender people Lynn is using her experience to improve the inclusion of women and LGBTQ+ members in STEM [20].
Professor Danielle Wood
Figure 5: Professor Danielle Wood. Credit: UNCTAD, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
The exemplary research of astronautical engineer, Professor Danielle Wood (Figure 5), is enhancing the world of space technology. As the lead of MIT’s ‘Space Enabled’ research group [21], Danielle aims to support the societal needs and justice of those around the globe [22]. Her current research utilises space technology to support the UN Sustainable Development Goals, by designing systems that communities can affordably use to improve local services, enhance public safety, and solve local challenges [23]. From collaborating with Indigenous people to further explore the history of space studies [24], to producing frameworks for assessing ecosystem health and predicting the impact it may have on humans [25]; it is clear that Danielle’s studies at Space Enabled are ground-breaking.
Danielle truly serves as an inspiration to women in STEM. Her achievements and influential insights do not end there, however. Danielle is the first female black professor at MIT’s Media Lab [26], and has given multiple presentations, educating the world on the importance of technology, space, and sustainability [27, 28]. Danielle also recently co-wrote a paper on the unethical behaviour historically presented against black women in STEM [29] - a must-read, that exposes racial and gender biases, and the erasure of black women in this field. Overall, Prof. Danielle Wood’s astounding contributions to space science, intersectional justice and global community development is truly admirable; and we thank her for her never-ending source of inspiration this International Women’s Day.
Dr Anne-Marie Power
Figure 6: Dr Anne-Marie Power. Credit: National University of Ireland, Galway
As a passionate marine scientist, Dr. Anne-Marie Power (Figure 6) has produced countless publications, posters and seminars; through which she has shared her insightful knowledge on the wonders of our oceans [30]. Her ecological research lies in many areas - from the study of microscopic zooplankton [31] to larger organisms such as Nephrops norvegicus (a lobster species) [32]. However, Anne-Marie is not just an ecological researcher, but a committed sustainable fisheries scientist.
Striving towards United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 14 ‘Life Below Water’, Anne-Marie has carried out research with ‘Cephs and Chefs’ [33]. This is an international study that explores cephalopod stocks and ecosystems (including squid, octopus and cuttlefish), whilst working with fishers to encourage and promote sustainable fisheries [34]. She has also analysed the impact of overfishing of wild specimens [35]. Overall, Anne-Marie has completed many successful studies on not only the ecology of many organisms, but the influence that global change and fisheries may have on these specimens.
Furthermore, Dr. Anne-Marie Power is a marine ecology and zoology lecturer at the National University of Ireland, Galway. Here, she has educated and inspired countless students on the intricacies of the marine realm, often guiding many students to their PhD qualifications [36]. It brings us great joy to include Anne-Marie in this article dedicated to women in STEM, due to her success and contagious passion for marine science.
Dr Jess Wade
Figure 7: Dr Jess Wade. Credit: Dave Guttridge, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Dr Jess Wade (Figure 7) is a British physicist and Research Fellow at Imperial College London. Her research involves exploring new materials which could be used in the production of optoelectronic devices - electronic devices which use both light and electrical currents to function, such as LEDs, or solar cells which make up solar panels [37, 38]. The interdisciplinary team of researchers she works alongside aim to innovate electronics by designing cheaper, more widely recyclable, and more environmentally friendly products [39].
This International Women’s Day, we want to recognise Dr Jess Wade’s commitment to highlighting diversity in STEM. In her spare time, Jess regularly creates Wikipedia pages for STEM professionals from groups underrepresented on the platform, such as women, people of colour, and members of the LGBTQ+ community. By increasing the visibility of these groups on the platform, she hopes that young people using Wikipedia will see the impact that people who look or feel just like them have had on scientific advances and discoveries [40]. As of Friday 5th March, Jess has written an incredible 1,289 Wikipedia articles - roughly one each day since she started the project in September 2017 [41]!
Tu Youyou
Figure 8: Tu Youyou. Credit: Bengt Nyman, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Born in 1930, Chinese scientist and Nobel Laureate Tu Youyou (Figure 8) was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2015 for the isolation and study of the antimalarial drug qinghaosu, also known as artemisinin [42, 43].
During the Vietnam War, in 1969, Tu was appointed head of Project 523, a covert research programme which aimed to find a novel cure for chloroquine-resistant malaria. The team researched ancient Chinese medical texts in order to identify potential antimalarial substances used in traditional Chinese medicine. By 1972, the team had identified a compound in wormwood with antimalarial properties, and isolated its active ingredient: qinghaosu, or artemisinin [44].
Tu Youyou attributes her success to her background, which involved an integrated approach to training in both modern and traditional Chinese medicine. Describing Chinese medicine and pharmacology as ‘great treasure troves’, she has strongly advocated for the benefits of an approach which synthesises the strengths of both Western and Chinese medicine [45].
Several hundred million people contract malaria each year; the research of Tu Youyou and her team resulted in the development of a therapy which has saved millions of lives [46]. Further, Tu Youyou’s work debunks existing prejudices in modern Western science which assume that traditional forms of medicine were irrational, based only on superstition, or that we have nothing to learn from them; her work highlights the utility of looking backwards in order to advance forwards.
Bupe Chikumbi
Figure 9: Bupe Chikumbi. Credit: Bupe Chikumbi
Alongside studying for her medical degree, 24 year old Bupe Chikumbi (Figure 9) is the Founder and Director of Genius Education Zambia [47]. Since founding the organisation in 2018, Bupe has worked tirelessly alongside her team to promote SDG 4: Quality Education, using innovative approaches to promote inclusive education across Zambia. This has included hosting science fairs, writing contests, and providing academic mentorship. Bupe is even the author of a Ministry of General Education Zambia approved textbook [48]!
Since the COVID-19 pandemic started, and with young people no longer able to attend school face-to-face, Bupe sought to find new ways of continuing Genius Education Zambia’s mission. In 2020, the Genius Learning platform was launched, providing curriculum-based resources for Zambian learners [49].
We first heard of Bupe’s amazing work at our 2020 Youth STEM Summit, and are delighted to include her on our list of Women Changing the World for her contributions towards ensuring that young people in Zambia have access to quality STEM education.
Though International Women’s Day is just one day of the year, we can all choose to take action for a more gender equal world all year round. There are so many more amazing women in STEM worth celebrating - why not start taking action by writing about one for Youth STEM Matters?
References:
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