Science: it’s a girl thing
On 21 June 2012, the European Commission launched its brand new EU–wide campaign “Women in Research and Innovation”. Under the slogan “Science: it’s a girl thing”, the first phase of the campaign aims at encouraging girls aged 13-18 to embrace a scientific school curriculum.
Women are still under-represented in research at a time when Europe needs more researchers to foster innovation and bolster its economy. The goal of the “Science it’s a Girl Thing” campaign is to attract young women into research careers in order to increase the total number of researchers in Europe.
There is a growing pool of female talents in Europe which research and innovation should benefit from: the She Figures 2012 report points out that the share of women graduating at PhD level now stands at 46%; however women remain a minority in scientific research, accounting for only 33% of researchers in the EU. There are many factors at work explaining the lack of women in research in general and in some sectors in particular. Some are linked to the practices of research institutions and the others to persistent stereotypes which affect the culture and image of science, deterring women from embracing a scientific career. The campaign intends to address these stereotypes.
The decision to targeting teenagers was made on the basis that, in those years, pupils are somehow asked to make a lifetime choice: the direction chosen while still in secondary school is likely to have a strong influence on the professional path the person will take while entering the labour market. The overall message the campaign conveys is that science and research can offer great career opportunities for girls.
The campaign consists of:
- an informative and dynamic website, including video portraits of role models, a quiz for young girls to discover their ‘inner researcher’, a description of the many careers that can spring from scientific studies, a photo contest “what does science mean to you?”;
- a Facebook page which enables chats with scientific role models and includes daily posts on science (quotes from women scientists, photos, videos, events);
- national events in EU countries, starting in 2012 in Austria, Germany, Italy, Poland, the Netherlands, reaching about 1000 pupils aged 13-18.
At the moment, the European Commission is assessing the first phase of the campaign, before planning its 2013 activities.
To learn more on the campaign, visit the website of the project. To share your experience with science, engage with the campaign via the Facebook page or follow the campaign on Twitter.
