Marine biologist reveals sexism that STILL exists for women in science
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The marine biology graduate criticizes the sexist attitudes STILL faced by women in science, saying she’s been told women shouldn’t work in the sea “because men can’t resist temptation”
A marine biology graduate has revealed how she dealt with sexism while working offshore, even after being told by a colleague that “women shouldn’t work at sea”.
The Plymouth University graduate, believed to be 27, tweets under the username @SophiesCatch and has spent time in Antarctica as a marine observer, saying she is “baffled” by the outdated attitudes that still exist. about women in science.
To mark the International Day of Women and Girls in Science on Saturday, she told her followers: “I want to remind all you dinosaurs that women belong in science, abroad and anywhere they want!”
His original tweet has now been viewed more than 200,000 times and has evoked some equally stale responses, including one Twitter user who told the grad: “Those men’s wives and girlfriends don’t necessarily want their husbands to go to sea with women. young for weeks. and months at a time.
Marking the International Day of Women and Girls in Science on Saturday, the Marine Biology and Oceanography graduate, who tweets under the alias @SophiesCatch, revealed how sexist attitudes towards women working on the high seas still exist.
Sophie responded that such a vision in 2023 was also ‘unnerving’, saying that ‘depriving women of their dreams and careers so that men don’t have temptations is ridiculous’.
Others shared their own depressing stories of being a single woman in a traditionally male-dominated environment.
One wrote: “Same dumb reason I’ve heard about why women shouldn’t be firefighters, because their wives don’t trust their husbands to control themselves when they’re with a woman at the station.”
Others recounted that women were historically thought to bring “bad luck at sea,” a myth some said they have heard in modern times.
A woman who had worked offshore said: ‘I’ve been there too. It is also a superstition/fisherman’s tale that women bring bad luck at sea.
‘I was told by the ship’s engineer on a research vessel to get away from his line fishing for mackerel off the back deck!’
One person told Sophie that other women did not like women working in traditionally male-dominated workplaces because they would be “tempted”, a view the Plymouth University graduate said she found “disconcerting”.
Others shared their own depressing anecdotes with Sophie (pictured), saying they had been told “women bring bad luck at sea” while working on a ship.
Many male scientists added their thoughts, saying the landscape was changing, but often “too slowly.”
One wrote: ‘Some of the best crew members and indeed skippers I’ve ever worked with are women. I’ve definitely noticed an improvement in attitudes, but you’re right, it’s still not good enough.’
According to the European Statistical Office (Eurostat), there are more women than ever working in science-related jobs, with 21 per cent of scientists and engineers now women.