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I\u2019m so glad that you\u2019ve all been loving our running miniseries and, as promised, I\u2019m thrilled to have a second one for you kicking off today. This one has changed my perspectives and extended my knowledge just as much, but in a completely different way and in relation to completely different pathways to joy but that\u2019s exactly the essence of seizing your yay \u2013 it looks different for everyone.\n\nThe thing is, so often you don\u2019t know what you want your future to look like until you can visualise it or see it represented out in the world, but lack of exposure can really hinder people in finding their purpose because they simply never know it exists. Enter, one of the biggest challenges facing women in science or the industries broadly referred to as STEMM \u2013 science, technology, engineer mathematics and medicine.\n\nToday, only 28% of researchers are women with less than 20% making up the most senior leadership positions, and only 3% of Scientific Nobel Prizes have been awarded to women. Numerous studies have found that women in STEMM fields publish less, are paid less for their research and do not progress as far as men in their careers.\n\nThere are so many different factors contributing to this disparity, but one is definitely the misconceptions surrounding what scientists actually do and the industries they can end up working in. Beauty and cosmetics, for example, is not the first industry you\u2019d connect with say, engineering or maths, but our partner in this miniseries, L\u2019Or\xe9al, was founded by scientists over 100 years ago \u2013 without science L\u2019Or\xe9al simply wouldn\u2019t exist.\n\nWhich is why, for over the past 20 years, the L\u2019Or\xe9al Corporate Foundation and UNESCO have been committed to women in science, to increase the number of women working in scientific research. In 1998, L\u2019Or\xe9al and UNESCO founded the For Women in Science program to promote and highlight the critical importance of ensuring greater participation of women in science.\n\nEach year, the program recognises the achievements of exceptional early-career female scientists and awards them with Fellowships to help further their research. And I\u2019m DELIGHTED to bring you this miniseries showcasing the five 2021 Fellowship recipients and the ground-breaking, mind-blowing work they\u2019re doing highlighting how diverse, dynamic and deeply impactful pathways in science can be.\n\nI\u2019ve emerged kind of wanting to move into science myself and wish there had been programs like this when I was younger. Wonderfully, L\u2019Or\xe9al\u2019s work also includes a Girls in Science program in partnership with UNSW and Melbourne University where these fellows are connected with girls in school to empower young women to forge careers in STEMM and inspire them to be part of cultural change in the industry.\n\nUnfortunately, the in-person Girls in Science events were unable to go ahead, but fortunately, this miniseries has taken their place so that it\u2019s not just schoolgirls whose minds can be opened by these five fascinating women and the way they\u2019re changing the world. Even if you don\u2019t aspire to a career in STEMM, I was captivated by these amazing humans and hope that you all are too.\n\nFind out more about the FWIS fellowship here.\n\n+ Announcements on Insta at @spoonful_of_sarah\n+ Join our Facebook community here\n+ Subscribe to not miss out on the next instalment of YAY!