STEM Saskatoon speaker, Susan Eaton, reaches out to girls interested in science

Susan Eaton is a scientist with two ambitious missions.

There are a lot of societal stereotypes.- Susan Eaton 

First, Eaton is studying the effects of climate change in the Arctic. But she's also doing what she can to make sure young girls feel empowered to pursue their dreams.

"Our team of women wants to inspire girls and young women," Eaton told CBC Radio's Saskatoon Morning.

Eaton is in Saskatoon to speak at the Festival of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEMFest) about inspiring young girls to become interested in science.

Among other things, she'll talk about her work studying climate change in the Arctic. Last summer, she led a team of researchers on a snorkeling mission up the Labrador coast and over to Greenland.  Along the way, Eaton's all-female team stopped in a number of communities.   

"The best group of people to reach out to women in these communities would be a team of women, a team of scientists, a team of mothers and daughters."

Eaton noted that girls score high marks in subjects like science and math up until their mid-teens and then something happens that dissuades them from continuing on in those fields.

"There are a lot of societal stereotypes that explain why that is happening."

Her goal is to destroy those societal barriers.

Scientist also values the arts

At the same time Eaton said, she finds the acronym STEM to be too exclusive. So, despite being focussed on science herself, Eaton is also encouraging girls to pursue the arts.  

"We need movie makers, we need journalists, and we need painters to interpret what's going on in the Arctic with respect to climate change and to tell the stories that scientists are sometimes not the best equipped people."

Eaton is the keynote speaker today at the STEM Festival in Saskatoon.