Celebrating women, trans*, and femme individuals in science

Today is International Women and Girls in Science Day (link)!

In addition to women and girls, we celebrate trans* and femme (WTF) scientists, who are often overlooked from this conversation. We encourage you to cheer and highlight the accomplishments of WTF scientists in your world! Not just today, but every day. Here are some suggestions:

• Seek out WTF mentees that might need support. Don't wait for them to seek you out. Host an open call and explicitly state your intentions to support underrepresented groups, including WTF scientists. 
• Be a true support to your mentees. Ask about hesitancies, anxieties, and concerns in professional settings. Provide an open space to talk and address these concerns. Help with networking. 
• Learn about WTF resources to share with mentees. For instance, the Association for Women in Science has specific resources for being more inclusive,  how to train our future leaders, regularly updated historical WTF scientists, and many many more cool resources.
• Evaluate your syllabus. How many female scientists are represented? Struggling to find female theorists in your area? Make room in your classroom to explicitly discuss this.
• Extend special support to trans* and femme scientists. The academic experience can be really difficult (learn from this amazing article by Leon Tsai).
• Hand-write a thank you card. It's really about that personal touch.
• Learn about the issues for women in science and scholarship. For instance, this article reviews 8 ways to support women and includes basic steps such as, Stop harassing WTF scientists, Listen and be an active advocate, and Review policies and incentives for WTF scientists.

What does science mean to you? 

We asked some of our fabulous WTF scientists and collaborators to share their thoughts and their favorite inspiring quotes. 

Breanna Dede (Psychology, UA): One of the most meaningful aspects of being a woman in science is using my position to try to uplift other women. I find myself constantly inspired by the bright and hardworking women around me who have worked to create a seat at the table for me alongside them, and I hope to do the same for other women.

Meagan Heilman (Psychology, UA): Not only am I proud to be a woman in science but I’m also proud of the amazing women who I work with. Seeing us make great accomplishments, encourage each other, and break barriers is one of the reasons I keep pushing myself to be the best scientist I can be. 

Dr. Caitlin Hudac (Psychology, UA): My research career in science started in 2007, and scientific conferences were intimidating, especially within neuroscience. It was not until 2017 that I spoke in an all-WTF symposium, which was an empowering experience -- listening to amazing women, sharing my own work, opening discussion. I hope to inspire and encourage the next generations of WTF scientists to be vocal and share their ideas! 

Nicole Friedman (Psychology, UA): Being a woman in science means I am able to follow my curiosity and passion for helping others through contribution of ideas and advancement of knowledge. It also has made me realize how essential it is for women to keep advocating for women in all disciplines, especially those that remain male dominated. As a graduate student, I feel fortunate to be surrounded by female scientists as mentors and inspiration. I am also grateful to the strong women who came before me and their unwavering commitment to improving the field and leading to more opportunities for women like myself. 

Dr. Jane Goodall (Nominated by Lauren (Koko) Hall; https://www.janegoodall.org/): You cannot get through a single day without having an impact on the world around you. What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.

Dr. Marie-Claire King (Nominated by Lauren (Koko) Hall; Genome Sciences at University of Washington): I think there are two keys to being creatively productive. One is not being daunted by one's fear of failure. The second is sheer perseverance.

Dr. Laura Morett (Educational Psychology, UA): I'm deeply appreciative of the impact that my senior and peer mentors have had on my development as a scientist. Thank you to everyone who devotes their time and effort to mentoring women and girls in science!

Cailee Nelson (Educational Psychology, UA): For me what it means to be a woman in science is to push boundaries and create an environment that is more inclusive for everyone. To be a woman in science is to be someone who, everyday, works to ask insightful inquiries about the world while simultaneously breaking stereotypes of who "should" be in science.  

Rebecca Revilla (Psychology, UA): To me, being a woman in science means creating a space of belonging for future women scientists, a space where their value and contributions to these fields are truly recognized.

Christina Sargent (Psychiatry, University of Washington): As a young woman who intends on dedicating my life to science, I’ve learned we often have to make our contributions more palatable for those in charge to take us seriously.  I hope one day to be in charge so that I can aid in reconfiguring the power dynamics within science myself, creating spaces where contributions are celebrated where merit is earned regardless of race, sex, gender, sexuality, or religion. Everyone deserves their fair shot in this incredible field and many of us do not start from the same place.

Grace Lee Simmons (Psychology, UA): To me, being a Woman In Science means frenzied late night writing, balancing (and occasionally dropping) far more responsibilities than I care to count in any given day, and unparalleled support from my passionate peers.