Picture A Scientist

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 I was not sure what I was going to write about today, until I read one of my fellow student's blogs. She had mentioned gender equality as a concern of hers. After a video I recently watched, I can understand why. 

Last week a faculty member in our microbiome group mentioned in passing a video called "Picture a Scientist" done by NOVA. https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/video/picture-a-scientist/. By the name, I thought it was going to be a fun video about different science fields and what they do. To my surprise, it was about the sexual/verbal abuse female scientists suffer from their coworkers, unequal pay, stolen credit, the lot.

When I hear "female scientist" the first name that pops up in my head is Marie Curie. I watched a documentary on her research, and how mentally and physically exhausting it was. I honestly don't think I could have done it. She was brilliant, determined, and incredibly tough. The thought of someone mistreating a treasure like her is unfathomable. To me this photo represents a person who has pushed herself to the very limit, all in the name of science, and still refuses to give up.



Sadly, many of our greatest scientists have been, and most likely still are, treated with disrespect. They are certainly not appreciated for the gift they are. More shocking is that there are often many people around when bad things happen, yet no one speaks up. One of the scientists only found the courage when she thought of her own daughter becoming a scientist some day and being mistreated. One of our former presidents said if he felt unsure about what to do or say, he would visualize the 3 people he admired/respected the most (mother/priest/child), standing around him. If he felt any one of those 3 people would have an issue what what was going on in the room, he would make adjustments to the situation. 

It takes more than just courage. You must know that, no matter who else is around, it is your responsibility to a decent society to act. Over twenty years ago a lady was  assaulted in front of her apartment complex with many other tenants standing around,  silently watching. The criminal finished his deed and simply walked away. When the police arrived, they asked why no one did anything. Everyone said the same thing: "I was expecting one of the others to do something." Please, if you see something, say something, do something. That tiny voice telling you "This is wrong.", is right.



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