A new exhibit at the Canadian Museum of Nature is showcasing little-known female scientists in a bid to inspire more women and girls to enter the field.
Courage and Passion: Women in Natural Sciences features the contributions of Canadian women to science from the 17th century to the present and explores the social and gender barriers these women faced in the pursuit of their careers.
The name of the exhibit encapsulates the stories of the women featured, according to curator Cindy Stelmackowich.
“Courage to go against a lot of social norms, fighting for the right to be a professional scientists.”
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One of the women featured is Ottawa’s own Kathy Conlan, a marine biologist whose career took her on dive trips deep below the sea in the Arctic and Antarctica.
She started diving at a time when it wasn’t common to have a woman doing fieldwork.
“Men might have been concerned that women would have been disruptive,” she said. “I’ve heard it said that you can’t have a team that was mixed gender because the team would fall apart.”
She said that has been changing throughout her career, as men realized the valuable perspectives and contributions of their female colleagues. Her unique dive suit and specimens from her exhibitions are displayed at the museum.
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Conlan said she wishes there had been exhibits like this when she was a girl.
“I wish I had that when I was a little kid, that there were women in my life that could tell me maybe I could develop a career,” she said. “My philosophy back in the 70s was that you went to university, but you were probably weren’t going to develop a career because you were going to probably get married and have a family.”
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Conlan is one of 20 women featured, who come from numerous science disciplines, such as botany, zoology, geology, agriculture, physics, paleontology and early medicine.
It wasn’t always easy to find women to feature, according to Stelmackowich. One of the challenges was a federal government marriage ban that prevented women from working as professional scientists. It was on the book until 1955.
Finding women in science and technology today still isn’t easy enough, according to advocates. There are fewer women in STEM, an acronym for science, technology, engineering and math.
More women than men actually have post-secondary qualifications in science at 57 per cent. But the rates of women in math and engineering that bring down the average.
“If you look at the higher level positions and the positions of authority, that’s where you see far fewer women,” said Samantha Yammine.
Yammine, also known as “Science Sam,” uses social media to make science accessible.
“People describe it as a leaky pipeline, like we’re losing women,” she said. “Those of us who really study this, we think of this like the pipeline’s broken.”
“Women aren’t leaking out, women are being pushed out because there’s so many systematic challenges they face,” Yammine said.
In her view, the answer is focusing on inclusivity, and that an exhibit like Courage and Passion helps.
The exhibit also includes what the museum calls “contemporary insights,” which CEO Meg Beckel hopes will inspire girls and young women who have an interest in science.
“We are proud to present this exhibition about Canadian women who have advanced our understanding of the natural world, paving the way for female scientists today, including those at our museum,” said Beckel. “Many of these unsung heroines did their work away from the spotlight, but their stories should be known by all Canadians, especially young people with a passion for science.”
The exhibition officially opens Friday and runs for seven months until March 31 of next year.
With files from Christopher Whan