May 3, 2021
In case you missed it, each week I will be taking your through some key headlines highlighting women in media from key publications. Here's your wrap up for 26 April - 2 May 2021:
1. 'Disaster Girl' makes $500,000 Off the Meme
As reported by NY Times
Do you know the name Zoë Roth? Perhaps not. But you would have surely seen the infamous shot of her that resulted in a viral meme.
In 2005, 4 year old Zoë was captured while her and her family were observing a controlled fire. Her devilish smirk would live on the internet in thousands of memes.
Now, after more than a decade of having her image endlessly repurposed as a vital part of meme canon, Ms. Roth has sold the original copy of her meme as a, or NFT, for nearly half a million dollars.
Zoë will be using the funds to pay off her student debt and will be donating a portion to charity.
A great example of how to take your power back!
2. Young women 'disproportionately' affected by COVID impact on jobs
As reported by ABC
A sample survey of South Australian women aged under 30 has revealed heightened anxiety and a lack of optimism about job prospects due to the global coronavirus pandemic.
More than 70 per cent of respondents said they had become "more anxious, sad or depressed" due to the pandemic, and 44 per cent said they were "discouraged" about the prospect of finding work.
"The social and economic ramifications of COVID-19 have disproportionately affected young women compared to other demographics," the report stated.
3. Dr Jessica Allen on retaining women in STEM & academia
As reported by Women's Agenda
In the latest episode of The Leadership Lessons, a Women’s Agenda podcast supported by Salesforce, Dr Jessica Allen speaks to Kate Mills about her journey in academia. Dr Allen, who has a multidisciplinary background as an electrochemist and engineer, is now a lecturer in the school of engineering at The University of Newcastle - but when she was an undergraduate in an engineering degree at university, she never imagined she'd be where she is today.
“I was one of very few women and it took me a while to realise I never actually considered a career in academia,” Dr Allen said in the podcast.
“I think partly because I didn’t have any female lecturers. I didn’t see any female leaders in engineering, so I never thought I would actually end up as a lecturer.”
“We’ve seen an increase in women doing science and an increase in women doing engineering as undergraduates. But it’s not just about originally attracting them to science but retaining them once they get there.
“We’ve got a massive pipeline issue in academia and industry, where women are there to start with and then we lose them somewhere along the way.”
Tune in again next week for more headlines!
Louise Nealon
About Louise Nealon
Award-winning Communications Director, Louise Nealon, helps purpose-led organisations and minority groups that support humanity, to be visible and heard – in order to create positive change in the world.
