The Sea Around Us team chooses to challenge

The Sea Around Us team chooses to challenge

For this year’s International Day of Women and Girls in Science, the Sea Around Us team has decided to use the 2021 slogan related to International Women’s Day – “Choose to Challenge” -and highlight its importance in the context of scientific work.

Choose to Challenge, in this case, refers to making the conscious choice of challenging and calling out gender biases and inequity. Thus, the women in our team reflected on what they do or can do on a daily basis to stand their ground and embody their achievements as female researchers.

According to the United Nations, less than 30 per cent of researchers worldwide are women and only around 30 per cent of all female students select STEM-related fields in higher education. Yet, at the Sea Around Us, 65% of our core team members identify as female.

For us, marking this day means not only celebrating the accomplishment of our members but also pointing out the importance of having a levelled playing field for women to contribute their skills and knowledge in academia, industry and government.