• Question: Do you think that gender influences the way scientists think?

    Asked by anon-294539 to Dhruti, Jessica on 25 May 2021.
    • Photo: Jessica Pimlott

      Jessica Pimlott answered on 25 May 2021:

      This depends. Historically, only men were allowed to study science, so some people may choose not to study a topic because they think it’s not aimed at them.

      Personally, I like to ignore these stereotypes and prove that anyone can be a scientist no matter what gender they are!

Comments

  • Photo: Jennifer

    Jennifer commented on :

    I think so, boys and girls are taught different attributes growing up and this has an effect on how you think (can be positive and negative).
    There are also lots of studies which show that the language you speak changes the way you think too, like if your language is gendered – in Spanish a bridge is masculine, el puente, and so people tend to think of them as strong, big and sturdy, whereas in German a bridge is feminine, die Brucke, so people think of them as elegant, beautiful and pretty.
    All of these things change the way you think and so change the way you approach problems.

  • Photo: Simon

    Simon commented on :

    Science is all about different ways of thinking about a problem and different ways of understanding things. Women and Men definitely bring different ways of thinking as they have had different experiences in education and in life due to their gender and its treatment in society. This is a real advantage for doing good science. I think its important to maximise diversity (gender, race, skin colour, etc..) in science as it brings out the best ideas from everyone.