Page 24 - Luce 2021

N ews a nd Events

Women in STEMM Forum +

Homeward Bound

One of the things I love about College 1) Seek mentors who support you, around us by leading with passion.
life is that you never know where a challenge you and introduce you to Storytelling is a powerful practice and
Dining Hall conversation might lead. new situations. women in STEMM are key to leading
Back in lockdown 2020, I had one such global communities through the big
chat over breakfast with a couple of 2) The climate crisis requires us all to challenges faced by the human race
third year and graduate science students. act. Making small individual changes and the planet we inhabit.
They were talking animatedly about towards sustainable practices matters,
their futures and mentioned in passing even if imperfect. With thanks to honours student, Rachael
how exciting it would be to meet more Skerritt, for co-moderating, alumna Dr
women in their fields, especially those 3) There are cold, hard facts which Maddie Mitchell for her help in making
who had attended (in their eyes) the show how many barriers women it all possible, and to our panellists for
ultimate science experience, Homeward face in STEMM – from experiences of zooming in: Dr Wing Chan, Dr Yona
Bound. sexual harassment in the workplace Jacobsen, Ms Nicole Fetchet, Assoc. Prof
and gender pay gaps, to (un)conscious Jill Sewell and Ms Fabian Dattner.
I kept that conversation in the back of bias. The barriers are higher again for
my mind and fast forward to September people of colour, particularly women As we gear up for 2022, I look forward
2021, we had the pleasure of hosting a and non-binary folk. to seeing where our Dining Hall
‘Women in STEMM’ online forum with conversations lead next.
the CEO and Founder of Homeward 4) Science communication is not
Bound (HB), Ms Fabian Dattner, along just about sharing facts. We can and Briana Ellis
with a number of HB alumnae, including need to engage the hearts of those Dean of Studies
our very own alumna, Dr Maddie
Mitchell (2005).

On board a ship amidst the stunning
backdrop of Antarctica over the course
of a month, HB elevates the visibility
and leadership capacity of women
with Science, Technology, Engineering,
Mathematics and Medicine (STEMM)
backgrounds to collaborate, influence
environmental policy and contribute
to current debates on the world’s most
pressing issues.

The forum evening was both intimate
and a call to action, a refreshing break
from the monotony of lockdown living.
Some of the key themes emerging from
discussion between our panellists,
students, staff and JCH alumni were:
24 LUCE Number 20 2021