International Women’s Day
International Women’s Day is a global day that celebrates the political, economic, social, and cultural achievements of women. With this year’s theme of “breaking the bias” we reflect upon the strong female role models we have in what many assume to be male-dominated fields. Ă山ǿĽé’s Department of Kinesiology and Physical Education is particularly proud to celebrate their women academics and researchers, including professors from several disciplines including exercise and health psychology, biomechanics and neuroscience, and exercise physiology. A few professors were approached and asked about what it means to be a woman in science and the importance of breaking the bias for women in science.
Dr. Julie Cote, Department Chair, explained:
“Being a woman in science, to me, means being a scientist to the best of my professional ability, and in doing so, showing that people like me can succeed at what they love to do. As a first generation academic, and second female Chair of a Department that is more than 100 years old, I am excited to see how far we have come, and remain determined to help the next generations continue to break down barriers. We need women in science to make more accessible, more equitable, and overall better science.”
Dr. Caroline Paquette, who leads the Human Brain Control of Locomotion Lab, sees “women in science as one of many other diverse point of views that can bring various point of views to the table and help provide a different lens to the more traditional/historical science of the past.”
Dr. Lindsay Duncan, said “I am often inspired by the other work of women in science. They ask important questions, they do rigorous and important research, and they are valuable collaborators and role models.”
Dr. Charlotte Usselman, director of the Cardiovascular Health and Autonomic Regulation lab expressed what being a women in science means to her:
“In a word - REPRESENTATION. Female students and researchers are reading all these key scientific papers that have excluded female participants because they're "too complicated" or are considered "vulnerable", and they get (rightly) pissed off!! And then we all take deep breaths and channel that anger into designing studies with strong experimental designs that include women. And in doing so we change the research landscape forever as we finally see ourselves reflected in the scientific literature.”
Although March 8th is an annual day dedicated to celebrating women, some of the female professors in the Department of Kinesiology and Physical Education note the importance of women in science everyday. We are grateful for these strong female mentors and trailblazers.
