Alom Shaha at the Guardian thinks that even though there are now more women Ph.D.s than men, women won't go into science unless they see a woman hosting a science show in the UK.
We're in the midst of a Golden Age of science on TV, Shaha writes, but women are mostly absent. It's an interesting question but women are not all the way absent, Shaha notes. Alice Roberts is just not as popular as Cox, which sounds like different issue. You can't mandate success on TV. Heck, I might complain I don't have a TV show as well - "Where is the Folsom, California Brian Cox? How will we motivate Sacramento or even California science students unless they see a local person hosting a show? Namely, ME."
It's kind of a silly argument but Shaha is a teacher at a girls school and friends with Cox so that lensing may impair her idea of the cultural impact (or lack thereof) of women on a television show. She then lists 7 additional female science television personalities so does that mean there is a lack of women in science on TV? No, it means that the BBC is doing its job and picking the best people and not fulfilling a gender quota. Like women in science, these issues resolve themselves because in science broadcasting, just like in science itself, it's about excellence and not sex.
I do agree about Jenny Rohn making a great host for a bigger show so here's a video:
Read Shaha's piece at the Guardian
