Isabel Torres
BIO
I’m a science editor/writer and science communicator with a PhD in genetics, co-founder of Mothers in Science and a mom-of-4. I’m passionate about promoting women in STEM and advocating for gender equality.
Twitter: @prettysmartsci
Instagram: @prettysmartsci
Website: www.prettysmartscience.com
ISABEL TORRES
“At work it seemed some people assumed I was no longer ambitious.”
My scimom journey began during my PhD when I got pregnant with twins. I gave birth by emergency C-section the day after my PhD defence was scheduled. I still took papers to hospital to prepare for the defence, and only cancelled it when the doctor said a premature birth was eminent (waters broke the next day). After a postdoc and a new baby, I embarked on a new career in science editing/writing.
I began feeling the challenges of being a scimom during pregnancy. My twin pregnancy was very tough physically and emotionally. Besides being exhausted, I had to stop working early in the pregnancy due to risk of premature labour. So although everyone in my lab was very supportive, I didn’t have time to finish my experiments and never got to publish my main PhD paper.
But it wasn’t just biology. At work it seemed some people assumed I was no longer ambitious. From subtle comments to being pushed to 3rd author because my colleague needed a publication and I probably didn’t care... But I did care, and obviously I should get fair recognition for my work.
After having kids, it was as though I had been pushed outside the imaginary circle of people with outstanding academic potential, downgraded to the second league. I was working 10x harder to prove myself and show my ambition, but for some people my work seemed invisible, taken for granted.
I always thought I was the problem, but when I started connecting with other moms I realised many had lived similar experiences.
There have been many truly supportive people along the way, but feeling left out affected my self-confidence at the time. This isn’t why I decided to leave academia, but for some women it might be. I have now built a new career that makes me happy and I still have many ambitious career goals, and I would never have it any other way. But like for so many women, becoming a mother has affected my career, and it wasn’t because of biology or personal choice.
Mothers, but not fathers, have to be superheroes and push themselves physically and emotionally to stay in the game and it shouldn’t be this way.
The aim of @momsinscience is to raise awareness of these issues and create a support network for moms in science. We hope to empower working mothers and encourage them to pursue their career ambitions and fulfil their true potential.