Filter by keyword: Women in science

Aug 24, 2026 Article

From Lady Jane Franklin to marvellous Mrs Mac: a brief history of trailblazing women in early Western science communication in Australia

The history of women in Australian science communication has thus far received little attention. While there is a growing body of research on the history of Australian women in western science, scholarship on the early history of colonial science communication in Australia is scarce, and research on women's roles in the field even more so. Despite this research gap, several colonial women played critical roles in educating on and communicating science to Australians from the 1830s through to the 1930s, particularly their fellow women and children. They took on various science communication roles that sometimes differed from men's approaches, such as scientific administration, visual artistry, and domestic education, and have therefore been overlooked. This article makes these science communication activities visible and aims to be a starting a point for filling the gap in the literature on the history of women in Australian science communication. It also aims to broaden the understanding of what counts as science communication.

Volume 25Issue 62026

Jul 13, 2026 Article

Transforming narratives: gender equity struggles in Latin American and Caribbean science museums

by Bianca Hipólito de Oliveira BHO , Alessandra Bizerra , Miss Mirelly de Oliveira Soares

Science museums are undergoing a transition, expanding their role in science communication to engage with equity and inclusion actively. Although women and gender-diverse individuals constitute a significant proportion of museum audiences, they remain underrepresented in exhibitions and leadership roles. This study examines how science museums can address gender equity. Based on a survey of science museum professionals across Latin America and the Caribbean, we identified respondents reporting gender-focused transformative actions. We conducted a thematic analysis of gender-focused transformative actions. Five key elements were developed: female participation, identity negotiation, disruption of normative gender narratives, historical recovery, and activism. The initiatives demonstrate significant transformative potential but are constrained by persistent challenges. By examining these evolving practices in contexts shaped by both structural inequalities and historical struggles for rights, this study contributes to an understanding of how science museums can act as spaces for social transformation.

Volume 25Issue 52026Transitions in Science Communication: Continuity and Change (PCST 2025)

Jul 08, 2026 Commentary

Beyond expectation: institutional and structural shortfalls in supporting scholars engaged in science communication

by Josephine B. Schmitt , Sabine Reich

The commentary diagnoses a structural contradiction: policy, institutions, and funders often encourage outward-facing activity while outsourcing its risks to individual scholars or external institutions. Integrating interviews with climate change researchers (N=13) as a case study alongside selected scholarship (without claiming completeness), we document how institutional reputation can overshadow researcher-centered support, how training often underaddresses emotional and security burdens, and how assistance can wane when harassment escalates. While various studies — including our own — still point to inadequate support structures, there is a wide range of services on offer that could prove effective in the long term. We elaborate on some of these in more detail, with a particular focus on Germany as the authors' (academic) home country.

Volume 25Issue 42026

Jul 08, 2026 Commentary

EDITORIAL: Scholars Under Attack — Navigating the dark side of public engagement and science communication in a politicised (online) environment

by Birte Fähnrich , Carla Almeida , Clemens Dietrich Blümel , Mr Daniel Edler , Benedikt Fecher , Mr Niels G. Mede , Nataliia Sokolovska

Hostility towards science has emerged as a significant challenge in contemporary science communication, particularly in increasingly politicised and digitally mediated public environments. Scholars across diverse disciplines are confronted with harassment, delegitimisation, political interference, disinformation, and personal attacks, especially when engaging in public communication. This editorial introduces the JCOM commentary set “Scholars Under Attack” and situates hostility towards science within broader transformations of media ecosystems, political polarisation, and contested epistemic authority. The article argues that current debates remain conceptually fragmented and empirically underdeveloped, with limited comparative and longitudinal evidence regarding the scope, forms, and consequences of hostility directed at researchers. To address these gaps, the editorial proposes a working definition of hostility towards science as practices, discourses, and actions that undermine the authority, credibility, or integrity of scientific actors, knowledge, and institutions in politicised public arenas. The commentary set brings together interdisciplinary and international perspectives from Europe, the Americas, Africa, and Australia, highlighting how experiences of hostility vary across political systems, institutional contexts, disciplines, and social identities. The contributions examine online harassment, gendered hostility, misinformation, academic freedom, institutional shortcomings, and the paradoxical dynamics of visibility in digital communication. Collectively, they emphasise the need for more systematic empirical research, stronger institutional support structures, and nuanced conceptual approaches that distinguish hostility from legitimate critique while recognising the democratic importance of public science communication.

Walking the line: balancing benefits of public engagement against the risks of harassment and attack

by Jana Laura Egelhofer, Mr Niels G. Mede, Fabien Medvecky, Dr Thomas James Carruthers, Alice Fleerackers, Miguel Garcia-Guerrero and Mr Bernard Okebe

The erosion of academic freedom in Venezuela: international human rights law, authoritarian practice, and implications for knowledge communication

by Mr Ricardo Villalobos Fontalvo and Dr David Gomez Gamboa

The price of speaking out: European landscape of online hate and harassment

by Atte Oksanen

Patterns of attacks against scholars in Germany: controversial topics as contexts and accelerators of science hostility

by Clemens Dietrich Blümel and Ennio Noél Brandt

Beyond incivility: supporting scientists' efforts to correct misinformation online

by Ashley A. Anderson, Nicole Kelp and Sera Choi

From visibility to vulnerability: how women scientists face gendered hostility in science communication

by Dr Maider Eizmendi Iraola and Mr Simón Peña-Fernandez

The engagement paradox: how negative feedback shapes visibility-oriented science communication on TikTok

by Tinca Lukan and Benedikt Fecher

Scientists under fire: lessons from the Omicron case

by Mrs Kim Darley Waddilove, Nothando Ngwenya and Marina Joubert

Beyond expectation: institutional and structural shortfalls in supporting scholars engaged in science communication

by Josephine B. Schmitt and Sabine Reich

Volume 25Issue 42026

Jul 08, 2026 Commentary

From visibility to vulnerability: how women scientists face gendered hostility in science communication

by Dr Maider Eizmendi Iraola , Mr Simón Peña-Fernandez

Public communication of science has become a central component in the relationship between science and society. However, the media exposure of research staff has given rise to new forms of hostility, especially in digital environments. The study Experiences of researchers who interact with the media and social networks in Spain ScienceMediaCentreEspana2024 investigates — via a survey (N=237) — the incidence and typology of these attacks in the Spanish context. More than half of the research staff (51.05%) reported experiencing negative incidents, with a higher prevalence among women (56.9%) than men (46.2%). The attacks differ by gender: women face more challenges regarding their scientific capacity and sexist remarks, whereas men are more frequently targeted over their professional integrity. These dynamics reveal structural gender biases that affect the wellbeing and legitimacy of female scientists, emphasising the need for institutional policies with a gender perspective.

Volume 25Issue 42026

Apr 13, 2026 Article

Gender in Australian science news

by Merryn McKinnon , Tegan Clark , Abby Hodges , Alexandra Horvat , Tianle Huang , Melissa Larkins , Annaclaire McDonald , Caitlin McLeod , Timothy Newport , Amelia Pearson , Sumita Thiagarajan

This paper explores gender representations in Australian print and online science news over a period of five years. Using a constructed year method, stories relating to any science, technology, engineering, mathematics or health and medicine related theme were collected and analysed to better understand who writes and speaks about these topics. In contrast to earlier studies, the findings show near gender parity of journalists and a higher proportion of women used as direct sources. However, men were still more frequently used as direct sources, even in disciplines dominated by women. Journalist gender does appear to relate to the source gender. This paper proposes actions that journalists, organisations and science communicators can take to increase the diversity of sources presented in science news, recognising that gender is only one small part of the picture and future explorations should adopt an intersectional lens.

Volume 25Issue 32026

Feb 16, 2026 Practice Insight

It's (not) rocket science to think with gender: supporting students to develop confidence in talking about gender through outer space outreach activities

by Eleanor S Armstrong , Doris Erhard , Manuela Gallistl , Sarah Rosenbicher , Christian Klösch

“What might our lives in outer space look like in the future? And how will those lives be shaped by gender?” These were the questions that directed students in a science communication activity in the Vienna Museum of Science and Technology in 2024. This Practice Insight reflects on this project and demonstrates how an expansive focus on gender in the long-term engagement project allowed student participants to challenge and pluralize normative masculinities of outer space futures, instead envisaging cosmic lives that supported traditional women's crafts, or gender-inclusive third spaces and city design. Rather than framing “women” and “girls” as the only subject for gender-oriented activities, this project encouraged students and educators to recognize that gender is done many different ways by different groups in societies. The paper provides prompts to readers to support them implementing similar transformations in their own science communication practices.

Volume 25Issue 12026

Oct 22, 2025 Practice Insight

From event enjoyment to career aspirations: how inclusive science engagement shapes participant perspectives

by Soumaiya Imarraine , Nicole Ortiz

Promoting inclusion in science is essential for enhancing public understanding, strengthening science literacy, and addressing structural barriers to participation. To support this goal, we organized a science fair in a suburban city near Paris (France), featuring hands-on, inquiry-based activities designed to be accessible and inclusive. The event attracted a diverse audience, including groups underrepresented in science due to gender and socioeconomic background. Participant feedback emphasized the value of active engagement and direct interaction with scientists. Our findings demonstrate that inclusive, community-based outreach can effectively foster interest in science and support broader participation.

Volume 24Issue 052025

Sep 24, 2025 Book Review

Reviewed book: Women Scientists in American Television Comedy — Beakers, Big Bangs and Broken Hearts

by Ionica Smeets

In their book Women Scientists in American Television Comedy, the three authors Karina Judd, Bridget Gaul, and Anna-Sophie Jürgens, present their study on how humor is used to portray women scientists in American television comedies such as The Big Bang Theory. The underlying theory and results are interesting to the wider science communication community, but this book might not be the best way to present them.

Volume 24Issue 052025

Apr 14, 2025 Article

Balancing realism and trust: AI avatars in science communication

by Jasmin Baake , Josephine Schmitt , Julia Metag

AI-generated avatars in science communication offer potential for conveying complex information. However, highly realistic avatars may evoke discomfort and diminish trust, a key factor in science communication. Drawing on existing research, we conducted an experiment (n = 491) examining how avatar realism and gender impact trustworthiness (expertise, integrity, and benevolence). Our findings show that higher realism enhances trustworthiness, contradicting the Uncanny Valley effect. Gender effects were dimension-specific, with male avatars rated higher in expertise. Familiarity with AI and institutional trust also shaped trust perceptions. These insights inform the design of AI avatars for effective science communication while maintaining public trust.

Volume 24Issue 022025Science Communication in the Age of Artificial Intelligence (Science Communication & AI)

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