What do you think are current challenges and opportunities for women in your career path?
It’s interesting, because I was teaching two weeks ago, and 95 percent of my class were girls. I mean, this is certainly a change from when I was a student.
I think the notion of mentorship and role models is very important. We need to stick together and help each other out. I certainly got a huge amount of help from other glaciologists when I was a young student.
I think it's important to show that women totally belong in field of glaciology. An explorer called Felicity Aston once said that she’s seen male scientists being totally emotional in the field, while female scientists have shown absolutely no emotion to break the stereotypes. In our field, what we really need right now is diversity. We need creativity. We need to get out of our silos. When you look at IPCC reports, for example, a third of the authors are women scientists. So, we need to help each other out. We need to create these opportunities for women, and we need to show that we belong there.
Do you have a piece of advice for young women who are interested in pursuing a career in your field?
Follow your passion, and, most importantly, reach out to people. Just this very morning, I had a call with this young student in France who was asking me questions about her choice of studies and career. All these important life decisions can be really scary. So please, do reach out, ask people about their own journeys. I think it's the most important thing, because you're not alone in this.
I’m so grateful for the mentorship and support I received during my early career and years of my studies. Now it's time to give back and help the younger generations to make the right choices. So, follow your passion, believe in yourself and reach out to people. It’s super important.