We know there is a gender gap in STEM. 35% of STEM students are women, yet we represent only 15% of STEM leaders and managers. Young children of all genders show equal interest in science, yet by age 10 when asked to draw a picture of a scientist, young girls are twice as likely to…
Science
Closing the gender gap in science
29.3% of the world’s researchers, professionals “engaged in the conception or creation of new knowledge”, are women. Women are 24% of the core STEM workforce in the UK and are 35% of STEM students. Women make up 39% of physical sciences students, but 19% in engineering, computing, and technology. No studies consider gender minorities in…
Science
Snapshots
Design for Mary Anning statue revealed The design has been revealed for a statue of pioneering paleontologist Mary Anning in her hometown of Lyme Regis. The campaign, led by 13-year-old Evie Swire, is crowdfunding for the statue in a bid to celebrate Anning’s achievements which went unrecognised throughout her life due to her gender and…
Science
Are GM crops in the UK’s future?
This month, the government launched a consultation into gene editing for livestock and crops in England. This aims to explore the pros and cons of genetic modification (GM) which is strictly regulated in the EU, deciding whether it could be a successful tool in post-Brexit agriculture. Currently, 60% of processed food in the USA contains…
Science
A snapshot of you
My current project is on ocean deoxygenation, a rarely discussed issue but one with potential to drastically impact the Earth’s future. The oceans are losing their oxygen, and the creatures living in them are running out of breath. The amount of low oxygen waters has quadrupled since 1960, and is set to continue increasing. Why…
Travel
Are big brands impeding on local cuisines?
When I was younger, my parents had a rule on family holidays that we could not eat at McDonald’s or Starbucks when we were away. A way of preserving the cultural experiences of our trips, this unfortunately didn’t always work. A late night McDonald’s after a delayed flight and a Starbucks early the morning after…
Arts, Venue
Should art be free and accessible to everyone?
This is definitely a difficult one! In an ideal world, art would be free and accessible for everyone. However, I don’t think this is realistic. One example that comes to mind is theatre. Free theatre events are fantastic, but so many people come together to work on a show that really need to be paid…
Science
Brexit and engineering
Brexit commences the end of free movement across the EU, which has allowed jobs in the engineering sector to be filled for many years. A large proportion of the active workforce is from abroad, and changes due to brexit leaves these workers uncertain about their residency. While some suggest that a skills-based immigration system will…
Features
Better recycling: plastic bottles
While many people in the UK believe we are doing our fair share of recycling, there is much more that could be done. In over 20 countries worldwide there are deposit schemes for the recycling of plastic bottles and cans; something that should be considered here too. These nations have deposit machines in supermarkets which…
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