International Women's Day is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating gender parity. Significant activity is witnessed worldwide as groups come together to celebrate women's achievements or rally for women's equality.
Marked annually on March 8th, International Women's Day (IWD) is one of the most important days of the year to:
1.celebrate women's achievements
2.raise awareness about women's equality
3.lobby for accelerated gender parity fundraise for female-focused charities
Women make up more than two-thirds of the world's 750 million adults without basic literacy skills; In STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics), the strongly men-dominated field, women represent less than 30% of the world’s researchers.
While a growing number of women enroll into science-based degree programmes, many opt out at higher levels, according to UNESCO. Furthermore, women who do become scientists are less likely than men to remain scientists.
However, diverse role models can empower women and girls in STEM. Role models inform, influence and inspire the decisions people make about their life and career. They are STEM superheroes protecting the planet and creating sustainable future.
Here, on the Science Island, we have a diverse group of female staff working in STEM. They are scientists, engineers and postdoctoral researchers. In this month, HFIPS releases episodes to hear voices from female colleagues to know what do they think about Women in STEM.
Let us meet Professor LIU Xiaoqin, LIU Xiaodi and ZHANG Huilan on International Women’s Day.
Name: LIU Xiaoqin
Research Unit: Anhui Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics
Profile
I am a scientist with Anhui Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics, HFIPS. I am working on instrument manufacturing for testing and controlling atmospheric parameters.
1.What are the words coming into your mind when you think of Women in STEM?
When I think about women in science, I think about distinguished female scientists such as Madame Curie and Tu Youyou, who made substantial contributions to the scientific field. I also think about how many of them were underappreciated at the time, whose work weren’t celebrated until many years after. This list includes Rosalind Franklin, Barbara McClintock, Chinese Physicist Wu Jianxiong, and so many others whose names were lost in history.
Lastly, I turn to myself and my fellow colleagues, and realize it is our responsibility to represent women in science, to encourage our next generation of females into pursuing a career in science.
2.What inspired you to get into STEM?
Many people assumed girls were good at art and literature, but I am an ‘exception’ who loved solving math problems and curious about scientific questions.
I enjoyed science lectures at school. Besides, our country was in great need of engineers and scientists, so science just became a natural career choice for me.
3.What do you aspire to accomplish in your career and why?
I wish to do solid and useful work for the society, especially in the area of intelligent industrial control system that is a men-dominated field. I will continue passionately working on frontier, ground-breaking projects, and provide more beneficial results to the industry, and hope that our work can encourage more women to join this field.
Name: LIU Xiaodi
Research Unit: Institute of Solid State Physics
Profile
I am Xiao-Di Liu, an associate professor in institute of Solid State Physics, HFIPS. I joined in ISSP in 2013 after getting my PHD degree from USTC, and worked in island for about 9 years until today.
1.What are the words coming into your mind when you think of Women in STEM?
Women in STEM are smart, charming, easy-going and under high pressure.
Women in Science are smart since they need to think a lot and can come up good science idea at any time. Women are charming not because they are beautiful, but since they always can have good logic. Women in Science are easy-going, since they always work, do experiments and have lunch with students and colleagues together. Women in Science are under high pressure since women always need to spend more time in family and children than men in China.
2.What inspired you to get into STEM?
Interest is the main power to get me into Science, Science is amazing and full of questions we are not known yet and waiting for us to explore. Furthermore, there are several teachers who guide me into Science. My physics teacher in high middle school is humor and teaches us a lot of interesting physics knowledge. Then my supervisor during my PHD and my colleagues in ISSP guide me into research and Science.
3.What do you aspire to accomplish in your career and why?
I hope I can do some transformative and cutting-edge research and have some significant work. I hope I can have a world-class lab and an excellent team. I am working hard for being a good women scientist on high-pressure physics filed.
Name: ZHANG Huilan
Research Unit: Institue of Intelligent Machines (IIM)
Profile
I earned my PhD. at USTC. After that I started my research career as a post-doctoral research at HFIPS. My focus is how to protect the crop from the damage caused by diseases, insects and weeds. Now I am working on how we use novel nano-material to prevent and control the wheat powdery mildew.
1.What are the words coming into your mind when you think of Women in STEM?
Conscientious, patient, carefulness. Women have some exclusive merits. Even in the strongly male-dominated field of STEM, women should be valued properly. I think women could be good at STEM job. Frankly, women think in the different way from men, that offers another perspective to see the world, to see the world more comprehensively and objectively.
Looking back at the Sci-tech development, women have been playing a role pushing science and technology forward. So I think, more and more women should be engaged into STEM-related jobs to make their contribution and also to get fulfilled in their career.
2.What inspired you to get into STEM?
It was the curiosity started even when I was a child. I have always been trying to know the unknown, to explore something beyond the limits. I am passionate about life science. So I work hard to learn STEM which can help me to explore the unknown in scientific way. When I am grown up, I started my career in science. Because I think Sci-tech can make a better life, benefiting us all. I am excited and fulfilled at the moment I do something to get some problem solved and make contribution to the society.
3.What do you aspire to accomplish in your career and why?
Now, my research focus is to study how to reduce the side effect of pesticide on environment and human health. I just want, through scientific program that I am doing now, to protect crop from damages in a more safe, green and environment-friendly way rather than using some pesticide that has some negative effect on environment and humans.
