Brian Cox: Stop attacks on 'sexist scientist' Sir Tim Hunt and encourage girls instead

 
Stop attacking Sir Tim Hunt, says Brian Cox

Critics should stop attacking Sir Tim Hunt and instead concentrate on getting more women into science, says Professor Brian Cox.

The physicist said the furore over the Nobel prize-winning scientist’s “trouble with girls” speech highlighted serious issues in the science world which he is glad are still being talked about.

But he said criticism of Sir Tim and Connie St Louis, the journalist behind the original story about the sexist remarks, should stop.

Sir Tim resigned from an honorary position at University College London and from a senior position at the Royal Society after he said female scientists cry when criticised and called for segregated laboratories. It was later claimed he was joking.

Professor Cox told the Evening Standard he was not surprised the story has continued to run. He said: “It raises a series of complicated issues, all of which are serious.”

These include the career progression of female scientists, the low number of girls studying physics A-level, and how institutions respond to Twitter mobs, he said.

He added: “Lots of things people think about all the time are focused into this one issue ... Some things shouldn’t go away. The focus on individuals should go away ... lots of individuals have been dragged in. The focus on them should stop. But the focus on the issues should not.”

Professor Cox praised the #distractinglysexy hashtag female scientists are using to tweet humorous pictures of themselves working in laboratories in response to Sir Tim’s remarks, saying it could help recruit more girls into the profession.

He said: “It is one of the only positive things to have come out of the whole saga. Of all the things that are remembered, if that’s what’s remembered then something good will have come of it.

“If what’s left is the very clear impression there are problems, and the positive hashtag, if that’s what’s left that is good.”

Professor Cox is in charge of public engagement at the Royal Society and is encouraging people to visit the Summer Science Exhibition, which runs until Sunday. More than 2,000 schoolchildren have already attended.

Professor Cox, who played keyboard with the band D:Ream, said children should consider the fun aspect of studying science, as well as more pragmatic considerations such as future job prospects and salary.

He said: “It is more fun than writing songs. The idea that learning and discovering is as entertaining as playing a guitar — or more exciting — is very important.”

The exhibition runs until Sunday at the Royal Society in St James’s.

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