Science is about knowledge. It involves the gathering of facts to help create predictions and provide explanations.
But for women who have made science their career, there is seemingly no scientific explanation to explain the work challenges they face solely because of their gender.
It’s an issue that Edmonton documentary filmmaker Brandy Yanchyk explores in her new film Ms. Scientist. The film goes to Alberta, Ontario, Quebec, Greenland and Nunavut, talking to female scientists who are passionate about the work they do but frustrated by the challenges they face.
“I found out that there are a lot of barriers,” Yanchyk told CBC’s Radio Active on Friday. “Some of those were sexual harassment, discrimination. A big one was when they stopped to have a family and then … re-entered the workplace.”