This Tuesday, 9th of October, researchers at the MRC WIMM marked Ada Lovelace Day, an international awareness day celebrating women science.
In an initiative driven by the MRC WIMM Women in Science Committee, students and staff were encouraged to share their inspirational messages of support, which were displayed in the communal coffee room throughout the day. Passer bys were invited to contribute their own messages to the board, both by sharing their own messages of support or suggesting new initiatives to the Committee. The messages were also shared on twitter and facebook.
Professor Catherine Porcher, Chair of the MRC WIMM Women in Science Committee said:
"Ada Lovelace Day is a fantastic opportunity not only to celebrate the achievements of women in science but also to bring people together to reflect on what exactly supporting women in STEM careers means in our everyday life and how best to do it. Today has triggered discussions amongst young and senior scientists, males and females, and has reinforced the importance of inspirational role models, of providing personnel development support and of having structures in place to help women come back from a career break. Avenues that we have focused on and will continue to prioritise here at the MRC WIMM.'
Ada Lovelace Day is an international celebration of the achievements of women in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM). It aims to increase the profile of women in STEM and, in doing so, create new role models who will encourage more girls into STEM careers and support women already working in STEM. It is named in honour of Ada Lovelace (1815-1852), an English mathematician with strong interests in scientific developments. She is considered by many as the first person to have written an algorithm based on the design of a mechanical computer, but over 100 years before the first computer was built. She is therefore an inspirational figure for women in science.