This blog is written by Jodie Fisher, a Senior Technician in Earth Sciences at the University of Plymouth. Following a PhD and academic research in micropalaeontology and geochemistry, Jodie took a side step to work in schools outreach, designing workshops and activities to encourage school children to think about careers in science. She then returned to geoscience and with her colleague Sarah Boulton set up ‘Girls into Geoscience’, an initiative aimed at encouraging girls to take up the subject.
What’s the point? Sadly this is often the first question we get asked when we announce how we are addressing equity and diversity within the geosciences. The second is normally ‘What about the boys? It’s not fair!’ Many see no gender bias within our subject area, or if they do they see no issue with it. But things are changing.
As an undergraduate, I never really thought about the fact that I had no female lecturers. It didn’t put me off wanting a career in geology, and being a minority in classes wasn’t an issue for me- but for some women it really is. Role models are key. I was lucky that many of the PhD students who demonstrated for us at Leicester were fantastic female role models; I am still grateful for their support and guidance. It was they, I suppose, who really inspired me. They made me realise that no matter what career stage you are at, you can make a difference to others. 22 years after I graduated from Leicester, at the time with zero female lecturers, I now work at the University of Plymouth, where like many departments in the UK there has been improvement in gender equity. We have more female lecturers, technicians, PhD students and post docs than ever before, and we can all have a role in helping support our current students as they embark on their own geoscience journey.
But let’s go back to the beginning- what was it that spurred us on to set up Girls into Geoscience, and how do we inspire potential students to take up the subject?
Working in higher education you want to give everyone the opportunity to learn, develop and have a choice of what to study at university. However, like many science and technology subject areas, geology has less women than men studying it at undergraduate level*. What is it about geoscience that makes people think it isn’t for girls? Is it gender bias? Is it a misunderstanding of what the geosciences are (#notjustrocks)? Is it teachers and role models turning girls away from subjects they simply think aren’t suitable? And how can we change this? Gender bias exists in children as young as 6, where careers and roles are already defined in their minds by gender, and by 14 many girls have already decided whether science is (or isn’t) for them. In this day and age of ever-increasing competition for undergraduates, Higher Education should be doing more. Not just for Sixth Form students on the cusp of filling in their UCAS forms, but for school children of all ages, from primary to Key Stage 5 (16-18 years old), to inspire them before gender bias creeps in, and someone utters those dreaded words, ‘geology isn’t for girls’.
It was this exact phrase, uttered by a teacher to an A-level student, that mobilised my colleague Sarah and I into action. As women in geoscience, we just couldn’t understand that a prospective student had been told geology wasn’t for girls. Which bit exactly? The lectures, the fieldwork, the practicals? Learning about the history of the Earth, or about how geoscience can potentially solve some of the big questions we have about the future of our planet? What exactly isn’t for girls?
Initially we wanted to invite girls to come and have a taster of what university life was like, get hands on with workshops and meet real women working within the geosciences to inspire them, but over time this has developed. The ethos is the same, but we had an impact on the girls coming that we hadn’t imagined. We weren’t just showcasing geosciences in higher education; we began to showcase a community of like-minded women and show just how accessible the geosciences were. Instead of large school groups coming en masse with teachers, as we envisioned from prior similar events, many girls came independently, explaining they were the only girl in their year doing geology, or the only one interested in taking it further. These girls hadn’t just come to find out more about Geology in HE, they had come to find like-minded girls and their own support network.
After 2 years we added a fieldtrip, something that feedback from previous years showed was clearly in demand, and again this was embraced by girls who felt that fieldwork could have been a barrier for them. By the time the evening icebreaker came around it was hard to believe these girls had only just met! Whatsapp groups and promises to keep in touch have meant that many of these girls have found something we didn’t even know they were missing- other girls just like them. Is this something that puts off others from giving the geosciences a chance?
Follow up surveys with the girls a year after each event tells us of the ongoing picture. 100% of girls who attended say they would recommend GiG to any girls considering geoscience. It is fantastic to hear where the girls have gone on to study, with many of those first attendees having now graduated and embarking on their own geoscience adventure. It’s amazing to have been part of the journey.
But it doesn’t stop here. Many of the girls who come to GiG already have an interest in geoscience. We help them to confirm that the subject is for them, and to break down any barriers they may have, but we are often preaching to the converted. This is why we set up Girls into Geoscience junior. Targeting girls aged 14 and under, GiG junior aims to raise awareness of the geosciences to those who may be unaware of it as a subject, career, or opportunity for them, before they make crucial GCSE decisions. The University of Leicester held the first GiG junior event last year, and we hope that other universities may join them in running future junior events, as part of the GiG initiative.
We are now preparing for our 7th event at Plymouth, six years after hearing from the student who was told geology is not for girls. GiG Ireland, GiG Scotland and GiG junior are now established and we are really excited to see what the next 7 years brings for the Girls into Geoscience initiative.
So what’s the point? Geology does not have equity in gender, and we hope that through our initiative we can make a difference to girls interested in the subject- to show them what woman can achieve, what roles are available to them, and most of all, that the Geosciences are for all!!
Booking for GiG20 at the University of Plymouth is now open. For more information about booking a place see our website https://www.plymouth.ac.uk/whats-on/girls-into-geoscience
If you want to get involved with GiG please get in touch! @girlsingeosci girlsintogeoscience@plymouth.ac.uk
*2018/19 HESA data shows that only 38.5% of all undergraduate geology places are currently taken up by women
Photos by Helen Robinson, Sarah Boulton and the University of Plymouth