by Dorothy David and Vicky Wallace, Department of Chemistry, University of Wollongong
Dorothy David, who works as a research assistant in the Chemistry Department of the University of Wollongong, completed her science degree with Honours last year.
Dorothy left high school thirty years ago, after studying for the "Leaving Certificate", and expected to enjoy a fulfilling career as a wife and mother. There was a lot of pressure on girls to conform to this ideal. Twelve years and five children later she found that she needed an outside interest and decided to contribute to the family budget by returning to the workforce. After several years of work in science related areas, the decision to begin tertiary studies provided an exciting new challenge. These studies were undertaken first as an external student at the University of New England, then as a part-time and finally a full-time student at Wollongong University.
After studying Chemistry for three years, Dorothy decided to complete an Honours year. It was a challenging and difficult year, juggling a husband, five children, four grandchildren and a freezer full of algae but it resulted in a successful thesis on The Chemistry of Marine Algae.
In today's school environment (as in the past), there is usually a higher percentage of boys than girls in the science classes (particularly physics). There is generally no active 'discouragement' from teachers towards girls to do science, however there is no 'encouragement' either. Even though there seem to be more women in science at universities now, compared to thirty years ago, there are still few women with highly professional careers. This is because women are faced with the choice of either a family or a full-time professional career. It is difficult to have both and to be good at both.