To celebrate International Women’s Day 2025, we are excited to share a collection of blog posts showcasing the work of some of the BES community. In each post, they discuss their experiences in ecology, as well as what this year’s theme, ‘Accelerate Action’, means to them.
What work do you do?
I’m Professor in Ecology in the School of Biological Sciences at Waipapa Taumata Rau The University of Auckland in Aotearoa New Zealand. As a plant ecophysiology, I am interested in how plants respond to environmental conditions, especially climate change. I also have broader interests in the impacts of climate change on biodiversity.
I teach plant science and global change ecology across all levels of undergraduate and postgraduate programmes. I joined the British Ecological Society in 2015 as an Associate Editor for Journal of Applied Ecology and became a Senior Editor two years ago.
How did you get into ecology?
Growing up on Sydney’s Northern Beaches in the 1980s and 1990s, I was lucky to have lots of opportunities to spend time in the bush and the ocean. I studied a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Biology and went on to do Honours and a PhD in marine botany. When I finished my PhD, I had an opportunity to move to land-based research and I’ve been working in forests ever-since.
Who inspires you?
There are so many brilliant women and non-binary activists and ecologists I find inspiring, including big names like Greta Thunberg, Jane Goodall and Rachel Carson. But I’m also deeply inspired by anyone who is standing up for things that matter including trans rights, Indigenous rights and climate justice. We need collective action to address our most challenging issues and that takes all of us, especially those with privilege.
How do you think we could ‘accelerate action’ within ecology and science, to move towards gender equality?
Sometimes it feels like enough work just to maintain the status quo but there are so many things, big and small we can all be doing to improve gender equality in ecology, science and our broader communities.
Importantly, gender is just one axis of marginalisation. If actions are not designed to address intersectional marginalisation, they will not lead to fully inclusive outcomes.
Professional societies like the BES are well-placed to take action towards equality because they are not incumbered by as many structural barriers. The BES has been providing leadership in equity, diversity and inclusion with a range of policies and actions. I would like to see the BES continue to diversify editorial boards by including more women of colour, women from the Southern Hemisphere and Indigenous researchers.
