On my first day as an IB student, when I entered my Higher Level Physics class, I was shocked to find myself one of the only three girls in a batch of sixteen students. Up till now, I had never observed a gender divide in STEM subjects in my school which provides equal opportunity to all students.Troubled by this observation, I found myself reading about the achievements of various scientific women who are transforming society each day with their work and realised that a part of the problem was not talking enough about them. My male friends often spoke of the YouTubers and Scientists who inspired them. But they were usually male. Thus, this platform is my attempt to share the stories of women who inspire me to pursue my passion every day in the hopes that it will fuel that desire in other girls as well. The mentorship program brings easy access to guidance from these professionals to all students no matter the gender, so that they may all participate in the process of learning and growing in science. 

Up till the fifth grade, whenever someone asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, the word “scientist” would be out of my mouth before they could even complete their question. The reason could be my family which is dominated by people in science. My grandfather is an engineer, and my father followed his footsteps. My mother is an architect, and my older sister is a physics enthusiast. Being surrounded by scientific minds, both male and female, I never thought there should be any discrimination when it came to gender. However as I grew up, I began noticing the gender gap in the field of science. Our society is such that less than 30% of the world’s researchers are women and sadly only 14% in my country. By bringing the inspiring stories of Scientific Women, I hope to help bridge this gender gap in science and let everyone have the opportunity to witness the feeling of joy and accomplishment in science.