As part of Careers Week, Dr Jennifer Tullet, Senior Lecturer in Biogerontology at the School of Biosciences, has discussed the opportunities for women in science, something she was recently interviewed on by ITV Meridian. She said:
‘We have taken a number of significant steps to address the “old-fashioned” attitudes towards women in science. We have also removed a number of barriers entirely, but really there should be absolutely no barriers at all, for anyone.
‘Science has been a field noted for the presence of outstanding women who have worked for their place and achieved great things in their research. We can now see women in a greater breadth of positions within the scientific community. Today’s young women entering the field are fortunate to have a wider variety of role models who have trailblazed the path for them and shown what is possible. Our next step is to continue highlighting the outdated modes of thought, signalling their unfairness and progressing with broader openness for all looking to enter the sciences. The effort is not over.
‘However, I do not consider myself a ‘woman scientist’. I am a scientist, and I hope that new recruits will have that same feeling.
‘For now, one of the best things to consider is the benefits that come with the utilisation of 100% of the potential workforce. Without any forms of outdated discrimination, people across the world can benefit from the incredible scope of advancement that comes from scientific research at all levels, from a lab assistant’s breakthrough to a Nobel Prize winner’s lifetime of work. We can all only gain from including everybody.’
Dr Jennifer Tullet
Dr Tullet joined the University of Kent in 2014. She obtained her PhD from Imperial College London in 2005. Her background covers ageing biology, transcriptional regulation, neuro-endocrinology and C. elegans genetics. At Kent, she combines her research in these topics with undergraduate teaching and postgraduate supervision.
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