SFU professor emphasizes need for female representation in science academia

February 11th is the UN’s International Day of Women and Girls in Science. This year has a special focus on the value of the social aspects and cultural dimensions in Science, Technology and Innovation to enhance sustainable development programmes.
 

It is estimated that less that 30% of researchers worldwide are women, with only 5% of young girls making up natural science classrooms. Dr. Kirsten Zickfeld, a climate scientist and distinguished professor of geography at SFU, reflects on her experience of being a young woman in science to becoming a successful scientist and academic.

Kirsten initially enrolled in a physics undergraduate program back in Germany hoping to feed her interest in quantitative problem solving and math.

“The physics department that I was in was very male dominated, we had one female professor…. I didn’t really have a role model at that time.”

During her master’s in physics Kirsten switched trajectories to climate science after realizing in order to be a successful scientist, she needed to be passionate about the topics she studied and make a difference in the world she lived.

Now committed to a successful career of understanding the long-term effects of human activities on climate, Kirsten is still aware of the gender disparity within many science programs.

“I would say that change is happening, but it is not yet where I would like to see it.”

Kirsten is unwilling to accept that this imbalance is due to a lack of interest in the topic of climate science as she has seen more young girls and women seeking out these programs.

Being involved with students at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, Kirsten has seen an increase of young women in her undergraduate courses, as well as applying for research positions in her Climate Research Lab at SFU. It is beyond these levels of education, entering higher positions in universities and research labs, that she notes a slower transition to equal gender representation within the field.

“Climate science is still very male dominated. I often find myself in meetings where it is just me as a female scientist. I would say that there are very few women who are senior to me.”

Coming full circle now as a professor to undergraduate students, a mentor to her master’s candidates, and mother of a teenage daughter, Kirsten stresses the need for more females in senior climate science roles, emphasising the importance of role models for girls pursuing these fields.