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The latest Women in Climate Network event centred on the ongoing issue of the gender pay gap. We had the pleasure of an in-person/hybrid event, with a packed room at the University of Exeter and others from the met office joining online! The discussion highlighted a variety of challenges and personal experiences shared by participants. There […]

On Tuesday evening, a group from the Women in Climate network headed to Exeter Phoenix to watch the feature documentary X TRILLION. This was to be quite a special experience. The documentary is about 14 women who travelled over 3000 nautical miles over the course of 3 weeks to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch to […]

It was great to have Gaia Vince join the WiC network and Global Systems Institute (GSI) for a joint climate seminar hosted at the University of Exeter. Gaia Vince is a science writer and broadcaster, exploring the interplay between human systems and the planetary environment. She is an Honorary Senior Research Fellow at the Anthropocene […]

Thank you to everyone who attended our in person networking event. The slides below give a taste of the network and some of the topics discussed. These were the topics of discussion on the speed networking tables;

We had a fascinating and open discussion about menopause – it was a fantastic opportunity to discuss as a community this transition covering a range of different experiences between those having gone through it, going through it and not there yet! Sarah started by highlighting the importance of normalising discussions about menopause, removing taboos around the […]

Jennifer began by introducing herself and how she become the Director of EDI at the University Mathematics Department, within which she dedicates 20% of her working hours. She travelled across the world from Australia to secure her first permanent position as an academic in 2017, which she began when her baby was 5 months old […]

We met to discuss the book ‘Lessons in Chemisty’ by Bonnie Garmus, winner of Waterstones author of the year 2022. It’s also been adapted into a series: Watch Lessons in Chemistry – Apple TV+ (UK)  Reviews of the book; ‘A delight of her rip-roaring, funny book is how it bonds familiar plot and character elements with the […]

Thanks so much to Dr Roberta Boscolo for joining us to talk about her work at WMO leading the energy services team and as a science communicator. Roberta explained how the energy sector is relatively new to WMO (only established 4 years ago!), but nevertheless is a hot and important topic. It directly leads to […]

Kirsty Lewis took us through her super-varied career, both in and out of academia and the military. She studied Physics at Imperial. Although she enjoyed the subject, she found the environment to be quite hostile and male-dominated. Therefore, after her degree, she decided to travel, including teaching in Japan and living in New Zealand. On […]

We were excited to be joined by Fiona O’Connor on Ava Lovelace day! Fiona joined Exeter University as a Senior Lecturer on a part-time basis in October 2022, in addition to being a Science Fellow at the Met Office. Fiona has had a long career of nearly 20 years at the Met Office, achieving success […]

This month we met to discuss Angela Saini’s new book, The Patriarchs. This book explores the roots of gendered oppression and explores the history of how modern patriarchy came about. Many of our attendees commented how they linked that the book was very structured and follows a very logical route through archaeological evidence, always with […]

We were excited to talk to one of the Met Office Executive Team, Elizabeth Harris, in our July meeting. We were able to dive into her career, negative experiences in a male-dominated environment, use of terminology and lots of great advice for overcoming barriers in the workplace.  Elizabeth Harris is the first Programmes Director at […]

We had a mentoring focused session organized by Jenn Brooke in a joint session between Women in Climate and the Met Office Mentoring Community. We were joined by a panel of speakers who shared their experiences of mentoring, developing mentoring relationships and the personal growth and career development that can develop through mentoring.  Alex Volcansek […]

We were joined by Dr Penny Maher, a post-doc at the University of Exeter and one of the co-founders of WiC, and Dr. Hannah Susorney, a scientist at the Met Office, to discuss the two-body problem. They shared their experiences navigating the challenges of balancing a career and maintaining their relationships. Their partners Steve and […]

Just before the Easter bank holiday, we met as a network to hear from guest speakers Clare Rodgers and Wendy Brooks, who joined us from the Environment Agency. We shared a space to pause and reflect on how to champion gender equality, diversity and inclusion. Often these terms can become buzz words and this session […]

Earlier this month on international women’s day, we met as a network in person and online to watch the short film by SHE Changes Climate. You can watch the film here, and we would highly recommend catching up on the video. SHE Changes Climate is an organisation which advocates for increasing levels of female representation […]

We were joined by Dr Saffron O’Neill, Associate Professor in Geography at the University of Exeter, together with Dr Caroline Bain, Enterprise Architect at the Met Office and founder of the Returners Network scheme, and Abigail Mewse, Benefits Manager and Lead of the Women’s Network at the Met Office.   We discussed how to prepare for, take and […]

This month we met to discuss the book ‘Intersectional Environmentalism’ by Leah Thomas, an environmental educator in the USA (@greengirlleah on Instagram). This book is described as: “Leah Thomas coined the term ‘intersectional environmentalism’ to describe the inextricable link between climate change, activism, racism and privilege. The fight for the planet should go hand in […]

This month we had a discussion-based session, following up on some of the themes discussed earlier in the year, during our session with Helene Hewitt and Anna Piriani. Helene and Anna were both involved in recent IPCC reports and were able to offer very informed commentary on diversity in the IPCC within the working groups. […]

This month we were very glad to be joined by Rosalind Cornforth of Reading University and the Walker Institute. The Walker Institute is the WCRP My Climate Risk hub and is an interdisciplinary climate research institute. Her work focuses on developing climate resilient societies and works between NGOs, governments and stakeholders to achieve this. The […]

Crystal Moore has had fascinating and very successful career in the Environment Agency for over 20 years. Crystal has a doctorate from the University of Exeter and is well known at the Met Office having been Deputy Director at the Flood Forecasting Centre, a partnership between the Environment Agency and the Met Office for more than […]

This week we were joined by Jemma Shipton, a Lecturer at the University of Exeter, to talk about her career so far and to offer some advice for those still on this journey. Here are some of the key themes we discussed. FIGURE 1: “Weather Forecasting Factory” by Stephen Conlin, 1986. Based on the description […]

Dr Helene Hewitt is a Coordinating Lead Author for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Sixth Assessment Report Working Group 1, Chapter 9 ‘Ocean, cryosphere, and sea level change’.  Helene has also been part of the Met Office Athena Swan Self-Assessment team. Helene joined the Met Office Hadley Centre in 1996 as an ocean scientist, where […]

We were grateful to be joined by Sabrina Spangsdorf in March to share her interesting research around gendered ambition. An abstract outlining some of the results shown in the talk follows first: Studies on gender differences in ambition show varied results, with recent qualitative studies suggesting this is due to lack of knowledge about how different […]

This month we were happy to be joined by Dr Rosie Oakes who is a Senior Scientist in the International Climate Services team at the Met Office. Rosie has a wealth of science communication expertise from having her postdoctoral work exhibited in the Academy of Natural Science in Philadelphia and being featured in a film […]

In January we met to discuss ‘Why men win at work:… and how we can make inequality history’ by Gill Whitty-Collins. This book looks beyond the facts and figures of gender bias in the workplace and studies the psychology of gender inequality. Described as “…an almighty set of recommendations” by Sunday Times Magazine and “A […]

We have had another busy year for Women in Climate, as the network approaches 4 years of age in April 2022! Nearly all of our meetings this year have been virtual, with the exception of an in-person social event in December 2021 (pre Omicron!). We’d like to highlight that the network often writes blogs that […]

This week, Dr. Kirstine Dale joined Women In Climate for a discussion about Data Science and Environmental Intelligence: what it is, its applications, and the underrepresentation of women in the field and what this implies. Kirstine is a passionate scientist (“Science is like magic, but real”) and in her talk she gave an overview of […]

This month we held a joint meeting with the Inspiring Science seminar series at the University of Exerer, and we were fortunate to be joined by Dr Kate Marvel- a high profile physicist and climate science who is also well-known for climate communication. Kate’s career has spanned researching policy relevant science issues at Stanford, wind […]

Exeter staff and students joined others across the country to become “Canary Craftivists” this week. We met to sew little yellow canary birds from fabric leftovers, and to join the call for decisive climate action at this year’s climate change summit, COP26, which is being hosted by the UK government, in Glasgow. These little fabric […]

This month we hosted a book club discussing the Sunday Times best seller, `Why I’m no longer talking to white people about race’ by Reni Eddo-Lodge. This book, first published in 2017, brings a fresh, British perspective to the conversation around anti-racism which was sparked globally in the summer of 2020. We would highly recommend […]

This week we were pleased to be joined by Ana Jaramillo and Mariana Macedo to discuss this topic of gender differences in academia. Both are PhD candidates at the University of Exeter in Computer Sciences. First we heard from Mariana about `Differences in the spatial landscape of urban mobility: gender and socio-economic perspectives’. This study […]

There are two main barriers for scientists communicating their work to the public: the prestige and elevation of the positions we hold at Universities or the Met Office can be intimidating to the general public (although our knowledge is respected), and the language we use is often filled with jargon and expert knowledge. Rather than […]

This week we were lucky to be joined by Dr Kirsten Walsh from the University of Exeter. Kirsten’s work focuses on the Philosophy of science, in particular Isaac Newton’s early modern philosophy. Newton is well known for believing that women did not have a place in science, and his Newtonian followers started a new type […]

Yes. How can we work to fix it? Inspired by MIT’s report on the status of women in science, we wanted to know what the data says about the gender balance at the University of Exeter and the Met Office, from junior to senior levels. Gender (and other diversity) statistics allow us to understand our […]

Since 2013 I have been a Senior Scientist at the Met Office. I am an Atmospheric Dispersion Scientist studying how smoke, chemicals, radioactive material, and volcanic ash are transported by the wind. I work in STEM because I am fascinated by the world around me My interest in the natural world was first ignited by […]

The main takeaways from our discussion were as follow, The book brings new perspectives to climate change.  There is an emphasis on cross-society approaches. We often come across the activist view, or the economist view, but finding the voice of women, minorities or artists is not the norm. People from all backgrounds, professions and communities […]

My Path into Science: The Masterplan As a child I knew exactly what I wanted to be when I grew up: Age 4-7: Woods-woman – Friend to foxes and owls, I would hunt for my food and live in an underground burrow, traveling only by horse. Farmer’s wife was a back-up option. Age 7-12: Famous […]

On this, the International day of Women and girls in STEM, I wanted to share some of my own route into science, and the hurdles that I’ve faced along the way. Diversity at all levels in science, while slowly improving, is certainly lagging behind other fields and doesn’t reflect the society we see around us. […]

Today’s International Day is all about celebrating girls and women in STEM. Much has been achieved over the past decades – not too long ago women had to fight to even enter higher education. Despite this discrimination, numerous women still found a way into science and made pioneering contributions to all areas of STEM. However, […]

As a female from a working-class background, I don’t meet the stereotypical profile of a scientist. However, my main strengths and interests in school were always in maths and science, and I was very lucky to be able to develop these interests by going to a secondary school which was a Science College. Biology, Chemistry […]

Since 2015, I have been a post-doc in Mathematics at the University of Exeter. I am a climate scientist and a climate model developer. I co-founded the Women in Climate network in 2018. I am in a STEM career because my interests have always been supported There are three things that were instrumental for me […]

This discussion was a starting point. Please if you have further comments and questions, email  Penelope Maher or Jennifer Catto, and they will collate and pass them through to the Deans. Promotions & after-COVID perspectives. The early career promotions are not on hold at the moment, and they are proceeding (almost) as normal. Please, check […]

#Climate Science Communicator at @metoffice Hadley Centre, @ayeshatandon, discusses where she feels #climateresearch has the most significant impact: its contributions towards @IPCC_CH reports. #30YearsMetOfficeHadleyCentre pic.twitter.com/A3IF4IhjkI — Met Office Science (@MetOffice_Sci) October 13, 2020   When climate science is discussed in the media, men are quoted more often than women, and few women are regularly quoted in […]

Science not Silence As a woman in science it feels: the men get a play book but the women don’t. Picture a scientists describes the empowering women who have made science more accessible to women and minorites: Challenging equality in pay and resources for women (Nancy) Reporting inappropriate behaviour & prevent future abuse (Jane) Diversity […]

Being a good ally: How to be proactive and use your privilege for good Blog by Freya Garry and Penny Maher   We were joined by Met Office BAME network founder Misha Khan (she/her, Twitter @SuperMish651), the founder of the LGBT+ PRISM-Exeter network Claire Davies (she/her, Twitter @Tuffers_c), and our Met Office Sponsor and Director […]

An outside perspective from an ED&I professional on diversity in science. Carol was a head-hunter for 20 years recruiting CFOs, CEOs and MDs in a huge variety of organisations and hadn’t really noticed they were pretty much all men until she stood up to speak at an event one evening and realised she was the […]

Women in Climate teamed up with Women in Physics to host an interactive one-day training session on understanding body language, led by Sadie Sharp. The focus of the training event was improving confidence by understanding ourselves better and thinking about how we may be seen by others. We considered our: inner self, outer self, exposure, […]

Last week Women in Climate hosted a two-day writing workshop led by Professor David Schultz. If you have not come across his excellent book Eloquent Science then we highly recommend it! Our two-day workshop was an excellent opportunity for us to focus on improving our scientific writing. Why? Because writing improves thinking! We spent day […]

Following our successful writing workshop for climate scientists we have decided to hold fortnightly shut-up-and-write sessions. The schedule of the events can be found on our shut-up-and-write page. We will be using the pomodoro technique. This will involve 25 minute writing blocks and then 5 minutes for a break/chat with the group. We will host […]

On Friday 5th June we talked with Mat Colins about: Why Publish? Here is a summary of the most relevant questions. Q. How do I choose between shorter page limit (eg GRL) vs long journal articles (eg J. Clim)? Shorter page limit articles are not necessarily easier to write so do not assume shorter is […]

The key take-home points were: what is the key message, how do you want to communicate it, who is your audience, and what style to use.   Videos Production: the environment where you film is key. Think of the elements that can be seen, the background and how you position yourself in the shot. Practice […]

Below is a summary of the discussion from Natalie’s presentation. One of the key take home points from Natalie is this: make a plan and work towards your goal but be prepared to change your plan to take advantage of new opportunities. You will grow and change during your career. Be open to new and […]

From our discussion there seem to be two common pathways into lectureships. Path one: Get your own research money Then use your research to leverage a lectureship.  Getting your own funding helps in two ways: It shows you have a bigger picture plan for your research and why it is important. It shows you have […]

Before applying for the job Do’s Do email the contact person and introduce yourself. This is a great way to ask questions about the position and let the person know you’re interested. No need to attach any documents (i.e. no cv). But do sell yourself and your research interests. Preparation for the Interview Do’s Do […]

The key points about press releases:  Don’t use words without explanation. Always lead with the punchline in the first sentence. This should be where you answer: You will never guess what… Your first sentence should never be background information or something people already know. If you are in the field or can take a photo […]

All of the links in the blog are for staff. If you are a student, please see the Learning and Teaching Support Handbook Quick links: Leave options, parents and careers Please note that all of the information below is just a guide. You will need to review the current policies and identify the correct policy […]

All of the information provided below is general. Individuals will need to access relevant information for their situation. This information will at some point become out of date and it is your responsibility to know the changes and refer to the latest UKVI guidance. The HR Immigration team can provide information on requirements, guidance and […]

What is a career anyway? In introducing themselves, some of our speakers observed that we should reflect on what we mean by career. “I never had a career, I had a life I was living“. “I am not interested in a career. A career is a story you tell after you have done it”. This […]

On Wednesday 5th June, Women in Climate hosted Careers in Climate, with funding from the Researcher Led Initiative Awards. We were joined by an exceptional group of speakers for this insightful and motivating day. Over 40 people met to hear a science writer, a journal editor, a teacher, professors, and research institute scientists discuss their […]

Publishing in Nature – a guided tour from our guest speaker Dr. Graham Simpkins We acknowledge that selecting the right target journal is an important decision and WiC are not advocating for publishing in Nature. We just want to pass on information to people who do want to publish in Nature.   How to choose […]

Friday 9 November: Outreach Here is the extended list of points we discussed in the outreach themes meeting. Outreach generally has two types of audiences: a smaller engaged group (may be higher level science, or young children!) or a more general science talk directed at a larger less specific group. Your task is to know […]

Open Data – How do I make data publicly available? The starting points to consider are your: need / want / how Need: Do I need to provide my data to comply with my funders requirements? This is funder specific but an overview can be found here. In general the idea is to ensure you’re […]

Extended summary (blog) from the discussion on imposter syndrome (part two) Is imposter syndrome the right term? No. As in our part 1 on imposterism, Chris also agrees that using “syndrome” makes it sound like an individual ‘condition’, which by extension suggests that the solution should focus on ‘treating’ the individual. However, in many ways […]

The University of Exeter’s Open Access library staff are here to help. Ask for help via openaccess@exeter.ac.uk Paying Page Charges Q. How do I pay? UK Research Council funders (e.g. BBSRC, EPSRC, NERC, STFC) do not allow publication costs to be charged against a grant. Instead they provide a pool of money, referred to as […]