JANUARY-APRIL 2016

Soapbox Science is grass-roots science outreach organisation that brings cutting edge research onto urban streets whilst also promoting the visibility of women in science. 14 events are planned across the UK and Australia for 2016 - check when the event will take place in your city here.  

Mary Bousted, general secretary of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers in the UK, discusses the tight rope that little girls walk at school. Due to sexist double standards, girls seemingly have to decide between appearing attractive or clever, as clever girls face serious bullying at school. 

While many countries have made progress towards gender equality in the sciences over the past several decades, women continue to be underrepresented in many fields. In this video two prominent female scientists discuss their careers, inspirations, and gender bias. 

My article "I had a female boss" sparked a fervent discussion on the impact of evolution on gender roles. Read article #3 of the discussion here.  Sheina Lew-Levy, doctoral researcher at the University of Cambridge, explains how  evolutionary theory is not at odds with gender equality. 

Those of you who live in England might find this conference organized by the University of Kent interesting. The topic of the conference is Leadership and Diversity in organizations. Both my supervisor Prof. Michelle Ryan and myself will speak at the conference.

Rules on equal pay and parental leave are rights protected by the EU law. If Britain votes to leave we are putting these at risk. Sign this petition to protect Women's rights as part of the EU. 

Lots of women suffer from monthy period pains and feel like it is not appropriate to stay at home when they do. This amazingly progressive company from Bristol encourages women who suffer from their period to stay at home and introduce a specific policy to this purpose.

The Oscars this year were exciting, not only for the movies but also for the politics. Racism and sexism in Hollywood were big topics. Read here why Ask Her More is not as irrelevant as Chris rock made it sound.

The US elections are becoming increasingly heated, and the contestants' agendas are passionately debated. Hillary Clinton may or may not be the best person for the position, but these arguments do not count. Focus on her political agenda, please.

A recent study found that boys consistently gave each other more credit than equally savvy girls in the classroom. A disconcerting trend that carries all the way into the life of grown-up women. Especially in the STEM fields women still have to work a lot harder than men to receive the same amount of recognition. 

No need to feel guilty for being a working mom. Not only do you do the same as most dads (who do not feel guilty either), but you might even be doing your children a favour: Working moms have more successful daughters and more caring sons, Harvard Business School study found. 

Those of you who live in England might want to consider joining the relatively young women's equality party exclusively dedicated to achieving gender equality. How exciting to be part of the forming phase of such a crucial political force!

Beautifully written article by Rosie Devereux from Australia about parenthood. Men are just as amazing, overwhelmed, or stunned by the task as women are. It's time to give men the credit they deserve instead of discouraging them. 

Canadian Prime minister Justin Trudeau and Sophie Grégoire Trudeau know that feminism does not only play a role when raising little girls, but also when raising little boys. 

The northern lights are no longer the thing that I find the most exciting about Iceland: I just read that they are approaching equal pay for both genders. Go, Iceland! 

What a great idea by one of my favourite feminists Emma Watson - a list of feminist books that everyone should read. New books will be added and discussed regularly - I cannot wait to start with the first one.

So true, Helen Lewis, men need to contribute to achieve gender equality! Only when men do half of the housework, women can do half of the paid work, I could not agree more with this article. 

We Are Sister Stories is a beautiful blog featuring stories that portray girls and women as strong and powerful agents. I am honoured to collaborate with them in 2016; they will post my blog articles on 5 consecutive Wednesdays starting on the 6th of January 2016.

Fortunately, not only bad things happened in 2015 (see below). Read about these dazzling feminist moments to cheer up again; so many women and men no longer tolerate sexism and decide to speak up.

"We don't need feminism anymore, gender equality has been long achieved." Laura Bates', founder of EverydayFeminism, response to this claim is a list of a sexist incidence  for each month of the last year. 

Check out these 50 amazingly inspiring women who decided that embracing gender stereotypes was never going to be enough for them.