Christine Rock is a wildlife biologist, SFU graduate, and is the President and co-founder of WildResearch. WildResearch gathers data to monitor the Lower Mainland’s bird and butterfly species and helps to remove invasive species. Their mission is to train and educate the community so that citizens can contribute to conservation science. Christine is currently working to expand WildResearch across Canada to engage a larger group of students, academics and citizen scientists.
World Environment Day: How Women in STEM Can Help Save the Planet
May 31, 2016
WRITTEN BY: JENNA ANDERSON
Women have long been advocates of groups who face oppression and need assistance, the environment included. Research has attributed this to the fact that girls and women tend to be more communal than men. Because of this communal inclination, women respond more to careers and education programs that help others and society as a whole. Therefore, as climate change is having more and more detrimental effects across the globe, careers in environment and sustainability are an increasingly appealing choice for women.
The institutional link between women and the environment was officially made at the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action in 1995. One of the main objectives of this link was to involve women actively in environmental decision-making at all levels. Over 20 years later, women are playing a larger role in environmental decision-making; however, there is still huge room for growth.
It is expected that between 2009 and 2029 there will be 50 million new green economy jobs created across the globe, particularly in renewable energy and green buildings. At the national level, on May 11, 2016 the Government of Canada committed to hiring 135 new research scientists, biologists, oceanographers and technicians to help protect Canada’s aquatic environment. Therefore, there will be a high demand for people with a STEM education in Canada and across the globe. However, historically women have been underrepresented in STEM fields. In the energy sector women globally make up less than 6% of technical staff and below 1% of top managers.
This marginalization of women in the green economy is bad for everyone, including planet Earth. Over 20 years of research has demonstrated that greater gender diversity in organizations leads to more innovation and more access to talent. Therefore, by having more women in STEM there can be greater improvements in renewable energy sources and environmental protection.
June 5th is World Environment Day and in celebration WWEST would like to recognize some of the amazing STEM women in BC working towards sustainability. Because girls are more likely to pursue STEM when they can see why it is beneficial (Dr. Lesley Shannon "Want to Encourage Gender Diversity: Choose Your Words WISEly) and when they see women role models who have succeeded (Why it's important to see "People Like Me" in STEM), recognizing these exemplary STEM women and their achievements are an important step towards achieving sustainability and gender equality.
Dr. Isabelle Côté is a SFU biologist who conducts research into fish populations on the high seas (international waters outside of exclusive economic zones). Côté and her colleagues found that closing the high seas to fishing would greatly improve fish stocks, such as tuna and swordfish, making fishing more sustainable.
Dr. Cigdem Eskicioglu is a professor at the School of Engineering at UBC’s Okanagan campus. She is researching the creation of energy from organic waste through the use of anaerobic digestive processes. Not only would this be a new source of energy but it would also reduce pathogens, odour and greenhouse-gas emissions and divert waste from landfills. She is currently partnering with the B.C. Ministry of Environment, City of Kelowna and paradigm Environmental Technologies Inc. to create a model for cities to reduce their environmental emissions while maximizing energy recovery.
If you know a young woman who is interested in protecting the environment and fighting climate change inform her of the many STEM careers available in the fields of environment and sustainability. Check out our “Do you want to LITERALLY SAVE THE WORLD?” resource for details on different STEM career paths.
Sources:
http://www.bu.edu/pardee/files/2010/04/UNsdkp003fsingle.pdf
http://www.unwomen.org/en/news/in-focus/end-violence-against-women/2014/environment