Less than a day tweeting here and I'm already being asked to comment on gender in science/academia. No surprise to any of my fellow #womeninSTEM...
I have a lot to say about women in science - the barriers we face and what we can do to change things for the better. But I also wish that we could sometimes just be scientists, and didn't have to always be Women In Science.
It's not great to feel the pressure to represent an entire marginalised community (like @xkcdComic shows below). Not just #womeninSTEM, but #queerinSTEM #BLACKandSTEM #LatinxinSTEM and a lot of others who feel pressure to be a 'model minority'. 
But it just goes to show the importance of representation: we need more marginalised voices in science, so that everyone's knowledge is being used! It's ridiculous that these historical barriers to #diversityinSTEM still persist. nature.com/articles/d4158…
In Ireland, I think the uptake of @Athena_SWAN amongst universities is a start but there's a lot more to be done to give #womeninSTEM the same opportunities as men. Here are a few more ideas: nature.com/articles/d4158…
Also, we can support #womeninSTEM and support individual choices. People talk about the 'leaky pipeline' where women leave academic science as they progress through their careers, but also academic science isn't the only thing that matters! geekfeminism.org/2012/09/24/pip…
