Letter from Anna Robinson
Hello everyone,
It was an honour to be asked by Rosemary Sutton to take
over as National Convenor of WISENET. Our formidable scientific community
membership, integrity in aims and objectives, and extraordinary generosity of
volunteers evoking images of guardian angels, has made WISENET an organisation
of merit that engenders much respect and recognition throughout Australia.
Our great thanks go to Rosemary Sutton for her guidance over the past few years. Rosemary’s ability to combine a fulfilling scientific career with family enjoyment while providing strong leadership of WISENET can only be an inspiration to us all. Your continued active role in WISENET will be greatly valued Rosemary.
In looking onward, there are many exciting and new directions available to us as we proceed into the 21st century. Not least of these is the emergence of all female scientific groups, increased representation of influential women in all areas of scientific policy, and many more opportunities for self-determination.
We already have some mechanisms in place for having our voice heard.
· Representation on the Chief Minister’s Women’s Consultative Council in the ACT. I hope other link groups will seek similar positions in their own states and territories.
· Attendance at Office of the Status of Women (OSW) activities, where we consult with politicians and government officers on different issues including grant applications
· Participating in FASTS events such as Science Meets Parliament Day, the National Forum series, Council Meetings and Press Club networking lunches.
· Nomination of Australian WISENET members for national and international awards and prizes (we hope to have a page dedicated to that on our new website – coming soon).
· Media contacts. Our local radio station recently approached me for an interview and Radio National also contacted me for comments on different topics. I look forward to redirecting according to expertise.
· Some communicative fun too – we are thinking of starting an ‘anti-matter’ page on our new website where we can have some real fun with our scientific experiences. Jenny Graves said she would love to write an anti-CV sometime; I would love to use some friends as referees for a scientific article; and just think of all those learning experiences that you can now look back on and laugh about. I hope you are starting to smile with us at the potential in all this ….
In conclusion, I’d like to pass on a comment made at a recent meet by Ann Moyal (who wrote “The Platypus”). Ann has noticed that loving science and seeing it as a privilege to be a scientist was a common theme in women scientists’ lives. She suggests that we should document some stories around that theme to see where it came from and where it leads.
Undoubtedly it is time for us to share in being leaders in science – strong partnerships all. Our membership shows we are already on the way, and I’m thrilled to be part of it.
Looking forward to meeting you all sometime soon,
Anna Robinson.
Dr Anna Robinson is a Post-doctoral Research Fellow, Molecular Genetics Group, Division of Molecular Medicine, John Curtin School of Medical Research, Canberra.
(Editors’ Note: For more biographical info on Anna Robinson’s life please see the ‘Women Achieving in Science’ article)