I’m glad that initiatives like «Women of the Poles » will increase even more women visibility in these demanding careers
My name is Lydie Lescarmontier and I’m a glaciologist specialized in the study of the impact of climate change on the Antarctic ice-sheet. I’ve been lucky enough to travel the polar regions for over 10 years to study these special and fragile places. Exploring the polar regions totally transformed my life in many ways, and I wanted to dedicate my work and my voice to their protection.
Since 2018, I’ve been working as a climate change educator in a UNESCO center, and advocating for the protection of the polar regions in international forums. I’ve learned over the course of my career that being a female polar scientist also means bearing a great responsibility: protecting these vulnerable spaces that we’re so passionate about, but also giving young girls the chance to project themselves into new careers, by changing our cultural narratives and showing them the path to science.
This work aligns perfectly with the United Nations Agenda 2030 and SDG5 dedicated to “Gender Equality and Empowerment of all Women and Girls”. The presence of women in polar exploration contributes to eliminating gender-based discrimination (SDG 5.1) by proving that gender does not determine capacity for extreme exploration or complex scientific inquiry. And I’m glad that initiatives as “Women of the Poles » will increase even more women visibility in these demanding careers.