Our team’s biggest take aways from “Picture A Scientist.”
It has been a heartwarming year for women in the sciences with the recent awarding of Nobel Prizes in Chemistry. The awards highlight how important diversity and inclusion are in our industry. The new documentary Picture A Scientist chronicles the groundswell of researchers who are writing a new chapter for women scientists by bringing to light the challenges they have faced as women in the sciences and their commitment to improving opportunities for women moving forward. This personal, powerful & eye opening film really hit home for our team as it has for people around the world.
Click here to watch the trailer
We asked our team, “What was your biggest take away from Picture A Scientist?”
“The courage, determination and sense of justice these women exhibited is powerful. Watching their experiences play out on their faces, in their gestures and words was heartbreaking. To know their trauma, followed by their hard work and conviction has made a difference is empowering. As they pointed out in the film, the challenges that women face in not only doing the work they love and contributing to the betterment of us all, but also advancing in their careers, can be depicted by the iceberg. There are a few areas that are seen and given attention, such as sexual assault that sit above the surface. Yet there are many microaggressions that sit beneath the surface that can slowly chip away at an individual – “A ton of feathers is still a ton.” The film opens with a woman saying, “There is a playbook. It was written by men. I always felt I didn’t have the playbook”. Let’s write a new playbook together that is inclusive of all, respectful of all and we will all be more because of it.”
“After spending over a decade of my career focused on supporting women in the life sciences, I thought the movie did a fantastic job of illuminating the continued struggle for gender inequity in the life sciences. It was also reaffirming to see the impactful changes that have been made to ensure a smoother path for women today and well into the future. I am proud of our clients who are making their organizations part of this change with a commitment to diversity and gender equity. I find it incredibly rewarding every day to support their initiatives through our Leadership EDGE for Women program.”
“As we look at the tremendous accomplishments of women in science over the years, most recently at the Nobel Prize level, it is undeniable that the cost is too high not to address stories of gender discrimination, microaggressions and harassment. These women had no choice but to be brave and forge ahead for the sake of science and the women who follow in their footsteps. If you didn’t get a chance to screen this film, I hope that you do! I feel so fortunate to be working with leaders of today that are recognizing that change is needed to retain talent in Life Sciences and that we can be part of developing women into even stronger leaders through our coaching and womens’ program.”
“The movie was very powerful and eye opening for me as I never suspected such harassment and inequality would hold space in an intellectual and purpose driven industry such as science. It’s unfortunate that these women weren’t able to focus on their love for science, as their work is for the betterment of humankind. There are ‘reluctant advocates’ in every industry that will continue to fight and clear the way for generations to come. I’m hopeful that messages like this film will continue to shed more light on the injustices and unnecessary negativity, bringing focus to the equality and inclusion we need to work toward. We all bring something important to the table and we need to encourage, support and mentor each other for a better tomorrow. Isn’t that what science is about, the discovery for a better tomorrow?
“Hearing what these women went through is heartbreaking. It is inspiring that they had the courage and determination to pave the way for future female leaders in the life sciences. Women are underrepresented in the sciences and we need to correct that, we can do better, and we will be better together. A quote from the movie by Biologist Nancy Hopkins that stuck with me was: “If you don’t have women, you’ve lost half of the best people.”
