How do you increase the number of women working in science, technology, engineering and mathematics? Toronto-based photographer Natalia Dolan asked female leaders in these fields to weigh in
I’m a medical illustrator, and a STEM advocate . As a medical illustrator, I visualize the complex world of science, such as human anatomy, ecology and long-extinct species.
“I grew up in India in the eighties. My dad was an engineer and my mom a homemaker. I really admired my father’s technical know-how and problem-solving skills, and my mother’s artistic creativity. My dad’s journey inspired me to become a software engineer. “I grew up in a very small coastal village in South India, where the community didn’t believe in higher education and careers for women in general. My father used to work in a bookstore – he loved reading, especially National Geographic magazine. It is those books he read in his free time that showed him the world for us girls beyond his village. I was 15, the perfect age according to my community to keep me at home and train me on household work and get me married off.
“If you don’t know an opportunity exists, it’s unlikely you will aspire to go where no woman has gone before you. I know first-hand about the elements of loneliness in being the first and only. That being said, beautiful things happen when we share our stories. I encourage female leaders to be more loud and proud about their achievements in STEM.”Assistant professor, department of biochemistry, University of TorontoBiomedical research on viruses that infect bacteria.
“Women leaders have a very important role in exposing young people to a wider variety of career paths. When girls don’t have family or people in their communities that work in those fields , they are blind to those possibilities and more likely to opt out of STEM majors, which can sometimes seem intimidating. Participation can increase when women see and meet other women who look like them and have not only taken those journeys but succeeded.
“Canadian leadership in STEM still has a lot of room for growth and improvement. It’s still largely white and male and that’s not going to change if institutions aren’t held accountable. Initiatives to encourage children and youth to pursue their passions in STEM are wonderful, but they will fall flat if more action isn’t taken at higher levels in STEM careers. Women, LGBTQ+ folk and people of colour are already here.
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