Sergey Tokarev, a Reface investor, initiated a program, STEM is FEM, to attract girls to the field of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). STEM is FEM, in its turn,has initiated a large-scale project, SHE is SCIENCE, to explore the contribution of Ukrainian female scientists related to the development of local and world science. The curators of STEM is FEM announced that they were going to organize an art exhibition and an essay writing competition under their campaign.
The scientific world is having a major issue of gender inequality. Ukrainians are well aware of the names and contributions of Ukrainian male scientists including Vladimir Vernadsky, Igor Sikorsky, Borys Paton, and various others. However, Ukrainians do not know the name of even a single female Ukrainian scientist. In reality, many Ukrainian female scientists played a crucial role in the development of science at the local and global levels.
Antonina Prykhotko, a Ukrainian physicist, researched non-metallic crystal. Her research study changed the general understanding of solid-state physics at the global level. Svitlana Arbuzova, a Ukrainian biologist, developed a strategy to detect the risks of hereditary diseases. Her strategy of genetic screening is used worldwide. Sergey Tokarev says that SHE is SCIENCE is a project that recognizes the contribution of various Ukrainian female scientists including Prykhotko and Arbuzova. He calls the lack of awareness about the contribution of female scientists “a global issue”.
Sergey Tokarev praises the efforts of his friends and partners including UNICEF and UN Women in this campaign. SHE is SCIENCE: Pre-Premier Exhibition will take place on March 5 in the conference hall of UNIT.Verse in Kyiv. The portraits of 12 prominent Ukrainian female scientists will be presented in this exhibition. Sergiy Maidukov, an experienced illustrator, led a team of modern illustrators to create these portraits. “In the age of visual communication, in the era of Instagram, an art exhibition is the best way to attract young people to the world of science,” notes Sergey Tokarev.
The young visitors will get an opportunity to meet these real-life heroines during the exhibition. Along with the exhibition, the curators have also arranged various other events to spread the information about these female scientists as much as possible. One of these events is an essay writing competition. The Ukrainian girls between the age of 14 and 21 can participate in this competition. The topic of the essay is to choose one of the 12 scientists and write about her achievements and contributions in the field of science. The official website of STEM is FEM contains a registration page from where girls can enter the competition and get more information. “I believe that participation in this competition will really help girls find themselves science,” says Sergey Tokarev.