Levelling the playing field in Stem and sports

The gender gap in science is marked in the field of sports science, where women tend to be underrepresented.

An N-TUTORR fellowship project has now sought to narrow that gender gap by empowering women undergraduates in sport and health sciences. Responsible for this is a PhD candidate within the SHE research centre at Technological University of the Shannon (TUS), Athlone campus, Cherianne Taim.

Originally from Singapore, Taim was one of the first women sports physiologists in the country, therefore, she has seen first-hand the lack of women working in sport science. This, she says, inspired her to produce a booklet that would highlight some of the successful women working and excelling in this field as researchers.

“This project stemmed from a personal passion of mine,” Taim, whose research explores the role of the menstrual cycle in a woman’s athletic performance and health, explains. “Through my PhD I have worked with really successful women, sports science researchers and practitioners and I wanted to increase their visibility because whether working in sport or within Stem (science, technology, engineering, maths), gender gaps do exist.”

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The project was a straightforward one – to produce a booklet with profiles of some of the successful women working in the traditionally male-dominated field of sports science. This would not only shine a light on their achievements but would hopefully serve to inspire and encourage women undergraduates to pursue a career in this rapidly growing field.

“I wanted to highlight that there are incredible women working in sport in Ireland and secondly inspire young women to consider sports science as a career. I truly believe in the whole idea of ‘if you can see it, you can be it’,” says Taim. “By sharing this booklet with undergraduate students in TUS Athlone, especially those studying sports or health sciences, we could have at least a small impact in encouraging women undergraduates to pursue a career in sports science.”

The project involved Taim reaching out across Ireland to most of the higher education institutes, and approaching women researchers who are well established and widely published in the field of sports science, across various disciplines such as physiology, nutrition and sports psychology.

“I got them to elaborate on their role and reflect on their career, and also got them to offer advice to graduates considering a career in this area,” she explains. “I know I would have found this really helpful when navigating my own career in this field.”

The resulting publication, Women in Sports Science: A Profile of Leading Irish Researchers, features interviews with 22 women researchers in Ireland, both north and south, showcasing their achievements and diverse disciplines within sports science research.

Among the women profiled are Dr Áine McNamara, an elite performance professor at DCU’s School of Health and Human Performance; Dr Carla McCabe, a lecturer in sport and exercise biomechanics from Ulster University; Prof Kirsty Elliott-Sale a professor of female endocrinology and exercise physiology from Manchester Metropolitan University; and Dr Niamh Kitching a lecturer in physical education from Mary Immaculate College, who shared the “a-ha” moments that inspired them to pursue their respective career paths.

The booklet was shared across the N-TUTORR network and is also hosted online, to maximise its reach. Women in sports Science: A profile of leading Irish researchers was funded by the N-TUTORR students as partners in innovation and change fellowships programme 2023-2024. Staff partners include Dr Aoife Lane, Dr Niamh Ní Chéilleachair, and Dr Ciarán Ó Catháin from the department of sport and health sciences at TUS Athlone and the SHE research centre. It is available for download at sheresearch.ie.