Kelpi marks International Women and Girls in Science Day
February 11th marks International Women and Girls in Science Day. Two members of Kelpi’s technical team, Isabelle and Molly, were fortunate enough to be able to celebrate this occasion by hosting an outreach workshop for a group of enthusiastic girls from a local primary school. The aim of this session was to not just promote the importance of fighting plastic pollution and Kelpi as a company, but to also hopefully inspire the next generation of women scientists. The session began by exploring the ways in which plastic pollution can be harmful to us and the environment, followed by an exciting practical creating ‘edible water bottles’ from seaweed derived ingredients. The final segment touched upon the number of incredible woman scientists who make up some of the workforce in Science Creates companies, including Kelpi’s very own Dr Stefanie Federle, Chief Scientific Officer, and Julia Maxwell, Product Manager, and ended with a couple of questions about their respective career paths so far and scientific inspirations.
Isabelle Picard, Materials Engineer, who hosted the outreach workshop, said:
“Diversity in STEM is a topic that is close to my heart, having been one of a small proportion of women studying physical natural sciences at university, then previously joining an engineering firm where women made up a disappointingly low percentage of those occupying advanced technical positions. Seeing this disparity only galvanized my commitment to helping promote diversity within the workplace and understand why relatively so few women - especially those from non-white ethnic backgrounds, with disabilities or disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds - pursue STEM careers or drop out of the workforce earlier than their male counterparts”.
Studies have shown that incorporating diversity policies into the workforce results in greater profit, as companies have greater access to diverse talent and hence are more innovative. While improvements have been made in representation over the past few years, progress is slow. This merely emphasizes how important it is to engage in outreach activities, such as those hosted by Science Creates Outreach, to challenge stereotypical views, encourage more diverse groups to pursue STEM subjects and careers and most importantly, show how wonderful science can be.
Many thanks to Science Creates Outreach for allowing Kelpi to once again host this session. Research and statistics can be found on the WISE campaign website at https://www.wisecampaign.org.uk/resources-statistics/