Tackling issues of underrepresentation in the geosciences

This September, I went to the ENGIE project conclusion conference, ‘Learning from the ground: why geosciences matter for future generations’. The ENGIE project (Encouraging Girls to Study Geosciences and Engineering) aimed to turn the interest of girls to study geosciences and geo-engineering, and thus to improve the gender balance in these disciplines. Overall, the ENGIE conference was an important space for conversations to take place about progress on gender equality in the geosciences, but the issue of underrepresentation has not been eradicated yet. I aim to use my role on the Geological Society’s Education Team to continue reducing the inequalities across the sector and make geoscience truly a place for all. 

The gender issue

Currently, less than “40 % of places on Geoscience courses in the UK are taken up by girls” (Fisher and Bolton, 2020) and statistics are half of that when looking at how many women make up the UK STEM workforce.

The lack of gender equality in geoscience is well known. Gender stereotyping exists by the age of six and “conceptions of traditional femininity, specifically ideas around ‘nurturing’ or ‘caring’ roles” (Education and Employers, 2018) leads to more girls wanting to be doctors and teachers than engineers and other STEM-related professions.  Other key factors contributing to the gender gap include:

• Male dominated culture – the geosciences are perceived to be a masculine field and women geoscientists are more than “twice as likely to experience negative gender bias in their professions” (Gray, R.E., Riche, A.T., Shinnick-Gordon, I.J. et al. 2021).

• Lack of representation – females are also less likely than their male colleagues to have role models or mentors and, therefore, get limited advice on navigating the workplace, professional and career development, and advancing in their careers (Hermann et al, 2016).

The gender imbalance across the sector contributes to a continuous cycle of missed opportunities for women, reduced diversity, and a narrower breadth of perspectives and opinions. These issues are some of the many reasons it is important that initiatives such as ENGIE continue to work to create positive change.

Through working with the ENGIE project The Geological Society put on a multitude of events, including a geoscience careers webinar for A-level students and a virtual walk through our exhibition Spacescapes. Funding from the ENGIE project also helped sponsor this year’s Girls into Geosicence fieldtrip to Bovisand, where girls were able to explore the landscape and tested their observation skills.

Why geosciences matter for future generations

The ENGIE finale event took place in the Musuem of Natural Sciences in Brussels on the first International Geodiversity Day. UNESCO named October 6^th International Geodiversity Day to highlight the “importance of geoscience in solving major challenges that humanity is facing today” (UNESCO, 2022). I enjoyed hearing from geoscientists about varying topics, from geology and the energy transition to the sustainability of raw materials supply, and of course, about issues of gender in the geosciences.

One of the talks that particularly resonated with me was about the intersection of geoscience, geo-conservation, and equitable access to outdoor spaces. Anjana Khatwa from the Wessex Museums Trust spoke about the importance of storytelling in geoscience and geo-conservation. I know first-hand how important it can be to captivate people without an established interest in the geosciences through my experience across the Geological Society’s outreach and public engagement work.

Hearing about Anjana’s love of the Jurassic Coast encouraged me to reflect on my own experiences. During geography classes, I was drawn in by places around the world that seemed too beautiful to be real. Growing up in Camden Town, London, there were not many impressive outdoor places that were easy to access. I had always dreamed of visiting a volcano and during geoscience fieldwork at university, I had the privilege of visiting Mount Etna in Sicily. Little Ashley never thought that was something she would experience in her lifetime, and through working at the Geological Society, I am now able to pass on the wonder and awe I feel about geoscience to the next generation. Through our education program, I aim to inspire other inner-city kids to dream big enough to visit the places that they never thought they could reach.

Phoebe Smith-Barnes, Education Officer at the Geological Society, reflected on the ENGIE finale event;

“It was a privilege to be able to be in such an inspiring space with other passionate people. The talks through the day from delegates showed a clear understanding of the need to get more people studying Earth Sciences. The delegates shared their talks and resources through the morning, which gave me lots of exciting ideas for resources the Geological Society’s education team can create for schools in the UK. The key to the success of projects like this will be how we communicate with schools to get the information out there!”

The project is over, but are we done?

The ENGIE project reached millions of young people across Europe through competitions, webinars (including one by our President Ruth Allington) and through sponsoring of a wide range of events for underserved audiences. The project also led to the creation of important reports including a one on ‘International best practice on teaching STEM’ and GEAS: Women who study the Earth, a book about 12 pioneering women geologists, translated into numerous languages. The conference concluded with a panel discussion where participants discussed what was left to be done to alleviate gender inequality in geosciences. The discussion highlighted some of the wide-ranging issues that persist in achieving equity of access to the subject and showed me there is still a long way to go.

I was shocked to learn that reflections from some of the panellists did not mirror the experience of the women I have worked with. One woman reflected that despite her involvement in the ENGIE project, she had never experienced anything negative in her STEM career that she could attribute to her gender. Comments insinuating that women needed to “leave the office” and that women need to “be able to travel” in order to access the same opportunities that men benefit from in the geosciences felt like they placed the burden of change on those already disadvantaged by the lack of gender equality across the sector.

I was disappointed to hear these remarks, and they highlighted to me that that there is so much more that needs to be done in order to educate, illustrate, support and improve people’s experience with respect to gender discrimination across the geosciences.

While I cannot discredit anyone’s lived experience, I do not feel that these reflections are representative of the sector I work closely with. Thankfully, alternative views were also shared and a constructive discussion took place around the work still to be done. In addition, a critical point was made about the fact that geoscience is much more than simply travelling and fieldwork, and that a modern geoscientist’s skills are more diverse and wider ranging than ever before. Take a look at our Geoscience for the future poster which shows some of the variety of roles and skills in the geosciences sector if you don’t believe me! My lasting thought was that to continue to strive for diversity, equality, and inclusion across the sector, we have to truly make geoscience something for all; for people with disabilities, for people of colour and for anyone who feels they do not belong.

References:

• Drawing the future – education and employers (2018) Education and Employers. Available at: https://www.educationandemployers.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/DrawingTheFuture.pdf
• Fisher, J. and Boulton, S. (2020) Girls into geoscience: Inspiring the next generation of female Earth scientists, NASA/ADS. Available at: https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2020EGUGA..2210232F/abstract
• Gray, R.E., Riche, A.T., Shinnick-Gordon, I.J. et al. The reasons women choose and stay in a geology major: a qualitative multi-case analysis. Innov Educ 3, 3 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1186/s42862-021-00010-2
• Herrmann, S. D., Adelman, R. M., Bodford, J. E., Graudejus, O., Okun, M. A., & Kwan, V. S. (2016). The effects of a female role model on academic performance and persistence of women in STEM courses. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 38(5), 258–268
• UNESCO (2022) International Geodiversity Day, UNESCO.org. Available at: https://www.unesco.org/en/days/geodiversity#:~:text=Recognizing%20the%20importance%20of%20geoscience,October%20as%20International%20Geodiversity%20Day

Girls into Geoscience photo by Helen Robinson