What is SHE is SCIENCE?
SHE is SCIENCE is a vast art project started in February in Ukraine by Sergey Tokarev as the project initiato. He was also the Reface investor. The art project was launched as a platform to inform a larger population of the contributions of female scientists to the field of science and the world at large. In March, the project focused on 12 Ukrainian women scientists whose portraits were featured in an exhibition.
According to businessman Sergey Tokarev, the SHE is SCIENCE project focuses on women from physics, genetics, mathematics, biology and other branches of science. These female scientists are then aided by illustrators who mobilize the popularity of the women and other activities within the scope of the art project.
Why SHE Is SCIENCE?
After observing years of inequality within the field of Science, Sergey Tokarev birthed this art project. After numerous studies, the initiator reported that men almost always overestimated themselves at interviews while their female counterparts seemed to underestimate their capabilities and qualification significantly. As a result of the male overestimating their merits, they asked for huge salaries while females demanded less.
For this injustice, Sergey Tokarev decided to stop this unfair treatment and end the inequality that thrived in both scientific and tech fields. To make it more astonishing, the tendencies from both genders remains obvious.
Fight for the Voiceless
Sergey Tokarev reports an experiment conducted to determine the knowledge of Ukrainians on prominent scientists. The exciting bit being majority of people were quick to recall Korolev, Sikorsky, Vernadsky, to mention a few male scientist. According to the initiator, almost none of them mentioned a woman scientist: a situation needing intervention.
“The experiment is how the art project SHE is SCIENCE was born,” Sergey Tokarev said. With gender inequality being a global problem, the art project has gotten funding and support such as billboard and city lights campaigns in Kyiv from international organizations that are large: The United Nations Children`s Fund (UNICEF) and United Nation (UN) Women.
The SHE is SCIENCE Art Project
The pre-premium art exhibition in March featured portraits of 12 women scientists, modern renowned Ukrainian illustrators, in the Unit Verse Conference hall. The paintings captured not only images but also information about each women scientist’s career, discoveries, and achievements.
Coordinators say that for the meeting to be more successful, the meeting’s format had to be experimented with using an unusual format and combining art and science. Sergey Tokarev said, “by induction of the design, the event received a larger media coverage consequentially attaining its goal”.
The heroines of the paintings gave speeches at the exhibition and told of their achievements to the headliner of the creative group behind the portraits, Sergiy Maidukov, and a panel discussion on “Generation inequality”.
According to Sergey Tokarev, the wide coverage from the media will be responsible for debunking the stereotype suggesting around science being predominantly a male sphere. This was achieved by acquainting a large audience by the existence of brilliant women scientists.
The Literal SHE is SCIENCE
SHE is SCIENCE includes a literary domain. There was an essay competition held by project curators among girls between 14-21 years old. The young writers were asked to choose one of their portrait’s heroin and write biographical data on the female scientist describing milestones in their career and how they view their personalities.
From the 561 essays received, 12 winners will be picked by a jury of experts. According to Sergey Tokarev, the best essay out of the 12 finalists will receive $4000 funding for any form of education. A charity auction of the 12 portraits and other valuables to be conducted on the end of May will supplement the prize pool.
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