Soapbox Science: helping eliminate gender inequality in science

London’s Southbank is no stranger to public performances. At all times of the year, this cultural shore of the Thames is awash with entertainers catching the public’s attention to wow them with their act. This July, a different group entertained the crowds, as members of Soapbox Science pitched up to transform the Southbank into an area for scientific talks and debates.

The group, whose website by-line is Bringing Science to the People, sees leading female scientists from the UK travel to public areas in London to talk about their work. In the great tradition of public speaking in the UK, the researchers are literally on their soapbox, taking their science directly to the general public. Soapbox Science has an important mission, ‘to help eliminate gender inequality in science by raising the profile, and challenging the public’s view, of women and science’.

This year, the SGM provided support for two of our members – Professors Hilary Lapin-Scott and Laura Piddock – to present at the event, helping them to showcase their work. Hilary, Professor of Microbiology at the University of Swansea and the second female SGM President, presented a talk entitled From gums to bums, bacteria through the body, in which she discussed the journey of bacteria through the human body, the activity of the bacteria and the crucial roles they play in our health. Hilary also talked about biofilms and how they are hotspots of bacterial-mediated processes within the human body.

Laura, Professor of Microbiology at the University of Birmingham and Director of Antibiotic Action, talked about the search for new antimicrobials in her talk, Antibiotic resistance and why we need new treatments.

I spoke to Laura and asked her about her reasons for taking part in the event. ‘I joined Soapbox Science because I was keen to dispel the perpetuating myth of academics living in ivory towers and that scientists all look like Albert Einstein! For me, Soapbox Science 2013 was about challenging stereotypes about women and scientists, as well as being a fantastic platform to tell everyone about the research that is carried out in my team.’

Hilary described her experience of the event as being a very different experience to that she is accustomed to,‘It was really hard work – I had never addressed an audience like that before, in a large public space – but I thoroughly enjoyed it and it was great to be part of something so positive. As well as giving me the chance to communicate about microbiology, this event is so important because it showcases women in science.’

‘When I was growing up and decided I wanted a career as a scientist, there weren’t any female role models to inspire me, and later on when I was studying there were generally only one or two female academics in a department. That is changing now but we still need to do more.'

As part of her interest in this issue, Hilary also acts as the SGM champion for equality and diversity. She is Chair of the SGM Equality and Diversity Working Group, who recently launched an internal review to investigate equality and diversity practices within the Society and will look at how SGM can support these within the wider scientific community. The official policy statement, issued in September this year, is available on our website and summarises SGM’s commitment to supporting the increase of gender balance in science. The Working Group hopes to launch various initiatives to raise the profile of existing women in science and to remove some of the barriers women face when establishing a career in science.

Benjamin Thompson

Senior Public Relations Officer, SGM