Women in Environmental Science

23 Jul 2018

The Women in Environmental Science workshop brings together female environmental scientists for a unique event

The Women in Environmental Science (WiES) workshop was organised by Dr. Cecilia Medupin from the University of Manchester, and sponsored by the Faculty of Science and Engineering's Directorate of Social Responsibility. The workshop, which took place on 13 June, was significant as well as timely for many reasons, directly following recent events for Women and International Environmental events. For example, 8 March 2018 was marked the celebration of International Women’s Day; 5 June – World Environment Day (with the aim of taking positive environmental action to protect nature & planet earth) and 8 June was the World Ocean Day.

The aims of the workshop were to bring women of different ethnicity and diverse disciplines into one place, in order to promote inclusiveness, widen participation and to share ideas. Part of the aim was also to establish environmental science as an interdisciplinary research theme within the framework of sustainable development goals & the role of women; encourage & inspire a new generation of women environmental science advocates & practitioners. The event was successful and some of the key findings from the workshop are:

• Many organisations need to encourage the career break discussions- making them a norm rather than an exception

• Women should focus on what is really important for themselves especially in defining their work-life balance and pace.

• Women and children are more affected by the changes in the environment and the only way to approach the problem is to raise awareness in schools and communities.

• Water quality/quantity represents an important determinant in environmental health.

• Everyone has a role to play for any positive change

• In relation to children education, it is important to discourage gender discrimination

• Women are more likely to show empathy in their jobs

• It is important to encourage support and empowerment amongst women

There were about seventy participants who included academics from within and outside the University of Manchester, non-academics, professionals from different organisations and students.

Watch out for updates on twitter @cemedupin and, if interested please register your interest here womeninenvtalscienceevent@gmail.com.