Women's Day 2022: 17, and standing up to gender imbalance in the sciences

Ilina Singh (left) and Eric Falt, Director and Unesco Representative to Bhutan, India, Maldives and Sri Lanka.

Ilina Singh, 17, is a student at The Sriram School Aravali, and author and illustrator of The Gutsy Girls of Science - a book comprising portraits of 11 Indian female scientists whom Ilina looks up to for inspiration.

Hoping to "do something in computer science, possibly AI (artificial intelligence)", Ilina says these women in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) even today give courage to girls like her who want to break barriers and work in male-dominated fields.

Ilina cites the example of Botanist Janaki Ammal (1897-1984) who improved the sweetness of Indian sugarcane by creating a hybrid in her lab, and who was invited by Jawaharlal Nehru to head the Botanical Survey of India as its director-general. Here's a short poem on her from the book:

"There was something about Janaki

That made her

The Queen of Botany.

She made

Indian sugar sweeter,

And gave Kerala's Silent Valley a breather.

A scientist very bright, she evokes such pride,

From her are the

Names of two flowers derived!"

In a phone interview, Ilina spoke about the book, her own aspirations in computer science, the help she got from Unesco Director Eric Falt and drawing inspiration from her engineer mom and painter grand mom. Excerpts:

Janaki Ammal (Illustration by Ilina Singh)

While researching the book, was there anyone in particular who stood out for you?

All the scientists in my book were amazing pioneers in their field. So it's hard to choose any one example. But still, when I was researching, I found Janaki Ammal's story really impressive, because she led such a brave and successful and multifaceted life. She refused to get married early and studied abroad instead. And thanks to her, the sugar we consume is as sweet as it is... she enhanced the sweetness of Indian sugarcane. And she made sure that the stock was more cultivable so India had to import less sugar.

She was also an activist. And she helped save the Silent Valley in Kerala when she lent her voice to the fight against making a dam that would have flooded the valley.

And, I mean, she has three species of plants named after her, which I think is a really interesting factoid. She's got a rose, a magnolia, and an herb named after her. So I'm just really impressed by the life that she lived.

What are some of the things that you take away from her?

What I hope is to be able to influence as many fields as she has, and touch as many lives as she has, you know. Her work has maybe not in a really visible way, but definitely changed the lives of every Indian. I mean, sugar is something that's consumed in every household. And to be able to manufacture it in India has not only cut down costs (compared with imports), but also given farmers a source of livelihood. So, her impact has been so huge.

Tell me about the collaboration with Unesco. I understand that that also helped to narrow down which scientists you were going to feature in the book.

Yeah, so when I was researching for the book to promote women, Unesco really helped me as an expert in the subject. So I've been to the India office, and I met Mr Eric Falt, the director. I'd mailed Mr Foster portraits, and written a request for guidance. And so he invited me to meet his team, and he was really encouraging. He guided me on which scientists to feature and how to go forward, which kind of mediums to use - should I use online mediums or maybe go to school and speak to students myself? And you know, he was just, like, a really helpful mentor to me in this project.

So tell me, Ilina, do you follow any female scientists who are currently active? And what is it that you like about your favourite scientists?

Actually, interestingly, my mother is an engineer. So from a very young age, she's been an inspiration to me about how women can be pretty successful in a field that's generally viewed as being dominated by men.

But I'm also very excited by the women of Isro, who helped put the Mangalyaan in space. Because if you look at all the images of them, they were wearing traditional saris and gajras. And that kind of shattered some of the preconceived notions I had about scientists tending to be slightly removed from day to day life or being absent-minded - you know, the scientist stereotypes. They were so culturally tied to India that it was a bit of a shock to me, but a really good one.

Another team of women scientists whom I like to follow are the women behind the Oxford vaccine: Professor Sarah Gilbert and Teresa Lambe. They designed the vaccine's genetic code. And another female scientist, Catherine Green, helped manufacture first batches. That team has also been a pretty big inspiration to me.

Inspiration how; what did you take away from them?

Generally a sense of fearlessness, I suppose. Because they've taught me that gender has really no role in science. I still remember the first few computer classes I took in school, I was one of the very few girls (in class)... that kind of intimidated me just a bit at that time. And so all of these examples, and all of these women, reassured me that, as a woman, I have a place in a highly dense and highly quantitative field, which is something that while schools may tell you, but you rarely see it enforced by the schools.

So how did the illustrations happen? Are you also interested in art?

I have been interested in art from a very young age, because my grandmother (Kamini Singh) was an artist. I took art classes from a pretty young age. So it's like a talent I've been developing. And I wanted to be able to tie in sciences and art, to get a unique perspective.

Who do you think your readers are going to be?

I think I am targeting the age range of 9-15 because that's probably the age where girls in school make the selection on what subject they're going to continue with. So I kind of want to target them so that I can influence them towards science.

My main message to young girls is that, you know, you can't be what you can't see. So, the female role models in science, in my opinion, will be really influential for the young girls and teach them that you do belong in the field of science.

And ultimately, I hope to give young girls the confidence to realize that they can succeed in a highly competitive and highly stressful field of study. And I hope to make the world realize that girls can, in fact, do really well at science.