Did you know? The United Nations declared February 11 is the International Day of Women and Girls in Science in the United States. We want to celebrate the women of Gaia Herbs and all of their accomplishments throughout our organization, as well as all women in science and technology around the world.
Here are some stats about women in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and medical) fields:
- According to MIT, the gender gap in 2023 in STEM remains significant, with women making up only 28% of the STEM workforce in the United States.
- The UN reports only about 33.3% of scientific researchers are women.
- In 2022, women represented 26% of the STEM workforce, according to STEM Women.
While this post doesn’t showcase all the lovely womxn working in our facilities and in the organization, a few of our employees volunteered to share photos to celebrate women and girls in science (and STEM!).
From left to right: Kate Renner, Director of Farm Operations, Laura Collins, Vegetable Program Lead, and Abbie Dillion, Farm Crew Leader.
Abbie, Laura, and Kate are the three women on the Gaia Herbs farm team. From analyzing soil samples, the soil microbiome, pests, disease, and beyond, science and research-based evidence are at the core of our agricultural practices, creating the foundation for who we are and what we do on the Gaia Herbs Farm.
Elyse Marder, a Research and Development Chemist, designs and implements efficiencies in laboratory procedures, performs multivariate analysis, and ensures the lab’s analytical methods meet ISO standards for scientific validity.
Claire Meyer is a Quality Control Analyst in the lab who tests raw herbs for pesticides using our GC-MS/MS. She also helps with method development.
Erin McKenney, our Clinical R&D Manager, developed Gaia Herb’s clinical trial program, where we test the efficacy of our herbal products and assist in developing new products backed by research.
Susan Hirsch (see here enjoying fallen ginkgo leaves) is a Clinical Herbalist and Certified Nutrition Specialist and the Formulation Manager for Gaia Herbs. She creates the recipes for each herbal product and works with the quality and marketing teams to ensure that each product authentically represents traditional herbal wisdom and evidence-informed science.
Jinghua L. Yang is our Lead Quality Control Analyst at Gaia Herbs.
Kathy Baynard, seen here running the 2022 Kennedy Space Center Half-Marathon, is the QC Operations Manager who oversees the manufacturing from raw material receipt to bulk finished product (before final packaging) at Gaia Herbs. Essentially, Kathy ensures products meet our standards before going out the door.
Want to celebrate women in STEM? Donate to a local nonprofit championing girls in STEM, share insights, work, and accomplishments of your colleagues, and learn more about the advancements women have made in STEM throughout history with these resources:
- 13 Women in STEM Who Changed the World, International Women’s Day
- Historical Women in STEM, Library of Congress
- 12 historical women in STEM you’ve probably never heard of, The College of St. Scholastica
- 22 pioneering women in science history you really should know about, BBC Science Focus