There was a big advert for L’Oréal’s ethnically diverse Women in Science awards scheme (cool) on the back page of the Guardian this weekend. Presumably it was placed there deliberately to counter this story, which was inside (not so cool).
As part of the Women in Science thing L’Oréal and UNESCO run an online forum called Agora. A lot of the content there is from researchers in developing countries. It’s interesting to get an international perspective on the problem of how to get more women into science.
Apparently 55% of L’Oréal’s research staff are women. At first I didn’t think that this was particularly noteworthy. Scientists in all of the labs I knew back in the day (not many, I didn’t get out of the basement much) were predominantly female. Turns out that’s because clinical research – the area in which I worked – is the exception and every other field of scientific endeavour has a startling gender imbalance.
How systemic is the problem? Which is a bigger deal, old boy networks or not being able to balance research lab timetables and outdated working practices with raising a family?
For the record NPG is, again, predominantly female, even within Web Publishing.
On a less serious, more manly note – Gillette, the best Spectral Subtraction Using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy a Man can Get. You’ll have to imagine that last bit sung to the jingle. Who knew that the particle accelerator thing they have in the Fusion advert was actually real? Yes, the (potentially underground) Gillette Research Institute really is owned by Proctor & Gamble and they really do research there.
Wow, an exquisitely linked post! I just want to know where all the dentists from Oral B hang out, you know the ones in white coats with the 3-D “Minority Report” computers (obviously from Dixons)?
This reminds me of one of my favourite quotes ever:
So does this focus on science mean that we might soon see scientists on screen, too? “Oh, no,” says the L’Oreal spokeswoman, scandalised. “We are a very aspirational product. We are fronted by beautiful women, and most of our consumers want to be like them. Would you like to look like a scientist?” She leaves no room for reply. “That’s why we use celebrities. Because people like to look like that.”
From The Independent 24 June 2004
And for the record, I refuse to buy Gillette purely on the basis of their appalling adverts.