Snips and snails, and puppy dogs’ tails; That’s what little boys are made of.
Sugar and spice, and everything nice; That’s what little girls are made of…
…except when they also like snips (eels) and snails, not to mention snakes, lizards, and especially frogs.
In this episode, we explore the lives of herpetologists with three women: Dr. Umilaela Arifin and Dr. Sinlan (Sheila) Poo are two of the three founders of the Global Women in Herpetology Project, and Dr. Jessica Hua is one of the many women around the world who shared their stories.
The project that the guests took part in resulted in a book entitled Women in Herpetology, 50 Stories from Around the World. The goal was to inspire young women to become scientists despite the intimidating hurdles they might see ahead of them.
“I live in Academia,” says Dr. Hua—Jess. “This is an ivory tower and and it seems like being a scientist can be so inaccessible. By telling the personal stories I feel like it communicates that you can do it. Look at all these different stories, all these different backgrounds, and yet we all ended up in a very similar place.”
However, the impact of the project on the 50 women who took part was deeper than inspiration.
Dr. Poo—Sheila—describes their initial Zoom meeting as a place of deep connection. She says that when she flips through the book and reads the experiences of her fellow herpetologists, she feels part of a wide network of friends.
“I want to just go through [the book] and visit everybody and know that I have a bed in all of these different countries,” she says.
“When I started my career in herpetology, it’s not so common in Indonesia,” says Dr. Arifin—Umi. “I travel all over Indonesia, to places that I have never been to or imagined I would go by myself. And it just happened only because I’m studying this little tiny things that people, especially in Indonesia, find like, ‘ooh frogs, isn’t that, like, disgusting?'”
These three women share their passion, their delight, and the wisdom they’ve attained in this field that they fell into only accidentally. Listen in!
For more information:
Explore:
- “Bias against parents in science hits women harder“
- “Nearly half of US female scientists leave full-time science after first child“
- “Foreign women in academia: Double-strangers between productivity, marginalization and resistance“
Credits:
- Audio recording of various species of frogs in Thailand taken at the Sakaerat Environmental Research Station in Thailand. Audio: Dr. Sinlan Poo
- Calling American toads, Audio: Dr. Jessica Hua
- Frog calls in the “Frog Voice of Borneo” were recorded and compiled by Ulmar Grafe and Maximilian Dehling
- “Poison Dart Frog” by Julian Winter from the Free Music Archive
- Sheila Poo photo credit: Brandon Lau