SCIENCE WRITING | 19
SISTERHOOD OF SCIENCE Aashima Dogra and Nandita Jayaraj are putting the spotlight on women working in various fields of science across India
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hile interviewing women scientists and academicians across laboratories and research institutions in India, Nandita Jayaraj came across two common patterns. “To be successful in science, these women either had a great deal of support – such as a family or relatives who encouraged them, or husbands and in-laws who pitched in with houseSEPTEMBER 2018
work and childcare, or were from privileged backgrounds and could afford help. Or else they had to be rebels – they were single mothers or unmarried by choice or had kids late in life or didn’t have kids at all, essentially defying social expectations in some way,” says the Bengaluru-based blogger and journalist. “It appears that marriage is a great impediment to women scientists,”