Women in Science
Our iGEM 2025 journey began with a team founded by two women and guided by the mentorship of two others; supported, cared, instructed, and encouraged by many more whose blessings continue to shape our path. Although we were a group of sixteen, the three women in our team played defining roles — balancing perspectives, shaping discussions, and ensuring inclusivity was not an afterthought but a working principle.
From the outset, we recognized a wider pattern that extends far beyond our lab: while gender distribution often begins evenly in classrooms and early research stages, the representation of women sharply declines in higher academic and leadership positions. Many talented women leave the scientific pathway entirely. We wanted to understand this not as a distant statistic but as a lived reality within and around us — and to explore what actions we could take, as students, to make science a space that truly welcomes everyone.
Our founding team and mentor reflected the importance of women’s leadership in shaping inclusive science.
Though fewer in number, our women members balanced discussions and direction, ensuring equity was built into every decision.
Early Inspiration and Our First Outreach
Our first outreach was hosted at VV Giri Girls’ High School, Berhampur — a moment that set the tone for our entire Human Practices journey. There, we met young women whose curiosity and confidence challenged stereotypes. Many of them joined us for subsequent sessions, assisting in activities, interpreting posters for peers, and even helping simplify our scientific demonstrations in their own words.
That interaction became more than an event — it was an exchange that reminded us how representation works both ways: seeing women in science inspires girls to imagine themselves in labs, and seeing girls take initiative reinforces our sense of responsibility as role models.
VV Giri Girls’ High School became the first place we shared science with future scientists, marking the start of our outreach story.
Many students later joined us in workshops and follow-ups, translating curiosity into participation and leadership.
Understanding the Gaps
Through internal discussions and collaborative workshops, we examined the barriers that contribute to gender imbalance in STEM — from structural challenges like fewer leadership opportunities and career breaks, to subtler issues like under-acknowledged contributions or lack of mentorship. We also noted how the burden of emotional and social labor often falls disproportionately on women in research environments. Recognizing these gaps helped us reflect on our own practices: equitable task distribution, supportive communication, and transparent authorship — small but real steps that translate principles into everyday culture.
We reflected on systemic and cultural barriers that limit women’s visibility in STEM — from mentorship gaps to career discontinuity.
Inclusivity for us meant empathy, transparency, and shared leadership. Every meeting and lab day carried that awareness forward.
Building Inclusion Into Practice
Our women members led several of the public-facing and design-oriented segments of POSEIDON — from conceptual visualization and content design to school outreach and data communication. Each of these domains required both scientific clarity and empathy — the ability to understand how different audiences perceive science.
We also adopted a mentorship-sharing approach within the team: pairing new members across gender and experience levels to ensure mutual growth. Inclusivity was not limited to gender — it extended to ensuring that each voice, regardless of background or specialization, had space in decision-making.
Leadership in science does not always mean being in charge — sometimes, it means ensuring others feel heard.
Outreach reminded me that representation starts early. You never know who might see themselves in your story.
We wanted our team culture to feel like a lab where collaboration isn’t gendered — only curiosity is.
“These two lead women balanced and countered all the nuisance and chaos and addressed every emergency call of our project with their patience, dedication and hard work, staying awake multiple nights to meet deadlines and managing the entire team with a smile. Synergised with stress, strength, support, and sharpness.”
We aim to sustain dialogues with schools and collect voices from women scientists and students to build a living archive of experiences.
Representation builds belonging — and belonging sustains science. Each story helps strengthen a more equitable future.
The women involved in our project timeline
These are the main contributors we could include — but our gratitude extends to many others behind the scenes.
MS Student: Biological Sciences
MS Student: Biological Sciences
MS Student: Biological Sciences
Post Doc.
Biological Sciences
External Advisor: Biological Sciences
External Advisor: Biological Sciences
External Advisor: Biological Sciences
Looking Forward
Moving forward, we hope to sustain the conversations started this year by connecting with more schools and university chapters to share our experience and gather theirs. We aim to compile a small open-access “Women in Science Voices” section, featuring reflections from mentors, peers, and students who’ve interacted with our project. Our belief is simple: representation is not a token, it’s a foundation — and each effort, however local, strengthens the structure of an inclusive scientific future.
Start Exploring
- Visit Education to see how our outreach integrated inclusivity into teaching.
- See Human Practices for our larger engagement framework.
- Read about STREAM 2025 — our flagship event connecting girls from nearby schools to hands-on science.