11 February is International Day of Women and Girls in Science
Implemented by UNESCO and UN Women in collaboration with institutions and civil society partners, the aim of International Day of Women and Girls in Science. is to promote gender equity in science. This year is the tenth anniversary and the theme is Unpacking STEM Careers: Her Voice in Science
The woman in the photo is Lady Amalia Fleming, the first female researcher in the inoculation department at St Mary's Hospital, now part of Imperial NHS Trust. Lady Amalia was a Greek physician, microbiologist, resistance fighter, political prisoner, social activist, member of parliament, founder of the Hellenic Foundation for Basic Biomedical Research, and second wife of Sir Alexander Fleming.
The 'XX Paradox', as Women in Global Health named it in their 2023 report, is while women account for 70% of the global health and social care workforce, conversely, 75% of those in global health leadership positions are men. What that means is, young women training and starting their careers in public health are not seeing women as role models in leadership positions. So last year we started a series of lectures by inspirational women in leadership roles in public health because we believe women like Lady Amalia deserve to be more than a footnote in someone else's life story. Our inaugural lecture in 2024 was by a brilliant virologist from Iraq, Professor Zeenah Atwan, where she presented the work she has been doing on Crimean Congo Haemorraghic Fever before being interviewed by Celine Tabche about her career journey and the barriers she has faced as a woman in STEMM. The next lectures in our series named in honour of Lady Amalia are coming in March and June 2025 Lady Amalia Fleming Lecture Series – Imperial WHO Collaborating Centre
Follow us on our social media channels to keep up to date with the lecture series,
(We also think someone should make a movie about a Nazi-fighting microbiologist 🎥 #ladyamaliamovie if you want to see that too)
Written by: Rachel Barker