University of Windsor celebrates International Day of Women and Girls in Science

A heavy snowfall wasn't enough to slow down a celebration of the International Day of Women and Girls in Science at the University of Windsor.

Students at the university took part in an educational scavenger hunt for science-based clues and met with local women who work in the field and shared their stories of success.

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"There are a lot of women scientists, for example in the past, who people don't even know about ...so I'm hoping it's something that will become general knowledge," explainedTazeen Ahmed,USci network Women in Scienceleader."I hope that knowledge will be an encouragement to girls to take part in science and get involved in these areas."

The day markedthe first time the universityheld an event for the occasion and students from several fields of science attended, with many saying they wanted to show their support for gender equality.

"I really think it's important to support our fellow women scientists and bring awareness to the inequality that still exists with womenin science," said second-year heath and biomedical science student Amaina Puplin.

Third-year student Dominique Gatti agreed, adding she wants to encourage other women to "just go for it" when it comes to a career in science.

"I think we just overthink our potential too much and that kind of holds us back and I think if we got around this barrier we could do a lot better."