a leaf warbler's gleanings

I have come to know some excellent women bloggers who write eloquently about science in various fora, so I was a bit mystified by recent observations that they seem to be underrepresented in the more prominent blogging networks (which are proliferating a bit these days). Martin Robbins, who is now part of the Guardian's new network of science bloggers, has crowdsourced this excellent list of female science bloggers. Know any that are missing?

[Update: The list is growing, of course, so follow the #wsb hashtag if you are on twitter, and the comments thread on Martin's post.]

A recent blog post by Jenny Rohn observed that 'celebrated science bloggers are predominantly male', and points to the fact that across the various science blogging collectives – including our fledgling efforts here at the Guardian, although I can tell you we certainly tried to get a fair balance – there is a distinct over-abundance of Y chromosomes.

So like the armchair activist I am, I created a hashtag on Twitter – #wsb – and asked people to help me come up with a list. Over the next several hours, more than a hundred replies came in, and beautifully, the tag became an impromptu celebration of women in science blogging.

Here's the resulting list:

(In alphabetical order of first name. Please post any errors or people I've missed in the comments, preferably with a URL where I can find their blog.)

 

• 'Dr Dr A' (@drdrAatBLC) | Blue Lab Coats
• Abbie Smith | ERV
• Alice Bell (@alicebell) | Through the Looking Glass
• Alice Pawley (@alicepawley) | Science Woman
• Alice Sheppard (@penguingalaxy) | Alice in Galaxyland
• Amanda Lovell (@a_lovell) | The Underground Sky
• Amy Freitag (@bgrassbluecrab) | Southern Fried Science
• Annabel Bentley (@doctorblogs) | BMJ Group Blogs
• Anne Jefferson (@highlyanne) | Highly Allochthonous
• Athene Donald | Athene Donald's Blog
• Bec Crew (@beccrew) | Save Your Breath for Running Ponies
• Dr. Becca (@doc_becca) | On the Market
• Biochem Belle (@biochembelle) | There & (Hopefully) Back Again
• Bordado Ingles (@BordadoIngles) | Bordado Ingles
• 'Bug Girl' (@bug_girl) | Bug Girl's Blog
• Carin Bondar (@DrBondar) | Biologist with a Twist
• Carmen Drahl (@carmendrahl) | Chemical and Engineering News Blog
• Cath Ennis (@enniscath) | VWXYNot?
• C.C. Peterson (@spacewriter) | The Space Writer's Ramblings
• Christie Wilcox (@NerdyChristie) Observations of a Nerd
• Christine Ottery (@christineottery) | Christine Ottery
• Christine Pikas (@cpikas) | Christina's LIS Rant
• Claire Evans (@TheUniverse) | Universe
• Darlene Cavalier (@scicheer) | Science Cheerleader
• Deborah Blum (@deborahblum) | Speakeasy Science
• DeLene Beeland (@tdelene) | Wild Muse
• Dorothy Bishop (@deevybee) | BishopBlog
• Emily Anthes (@EmilyAnthes) | Wonderland
• Emily Lakdawalla (@elakdawalla) | The Planetary Society Blog
• Emily Willingham | Complete Idiot's Guide for College Biology
• Eva Amsen (@easternblot) | Eastern Blot
• Evie Marom (@SpaceGurlEvie) | Evie's Sci Blog
• Female Science Professor | Female Science Professor
• 'Grrlscientist' (@GrrlScientist) | GrrlScientist
• Hannah Devlin (@hannahdev) | Times Science Blogs
• Hannah King (@BabbleNan) | Naked Little Ape
• Hannah Waters (@culturingsci) | Culturing Science
• Heather Pringle (@hpringle) | Last Word on Nothing
• Holly Barnes (@hollybarnes) | Holly's Blogs
• Dr. Isis (@drisis) | Isis the Scientist
• 'Jade Ed' (@jadedbybiotech) | Jad Ed
• Janet Stemwedel (@docfreeride) | Adventures in Ethics and Science
• Jennifer Ouelette (@JenLucPiquant) | Cocktail Party Physics
• Jennifer Rohn (@JennyRohn) | Mind the Gap
• Jess Palmer (@jesspalmer) | Bioephemera
• Joanne Manaster (@sciencegoddess) | Joanne Loves Science!
• Jo Marchant (@jomarchant) | Decoding the Heavens
• Jovana Grbic (@ScriptPhD) | Script PhD
• Jules B (@geekinthegambia) | Geek in The Gambia
• 'Disgruntled Julie' (@ethidiumbromide) | Disgruntled Julie
• Karen Grepin (@KarenGrepin) | Karen Grepin's Global Health Blog
• Karen James (@kejames) | kejames.com
• Kat Arney (@harpistkat) | Cancer Research UK
• Kate Clancy (@kateclancy) | Context and Variation
• Kelly Oakes (@kahoakes) | Basic Space
• Dr. Kiki Sanford (@drkiki) | The Bird's Brain
• Krystal D'Costa (@anthinpractice) | Anthropology in Practice
• 'Lab Mom' (@Lab_Mom) | The Toughest Job You'll Ever Love
• 'Lady Scientist' (@LadyScientist) | A Lady Scientist
• Dr. Leigh (@dr_leigh) | Neurodynamics
• Leila Battison (@leilageologist) | Science in Pen and Ink
• Lily Asquith | LHCsound
• Lisa Jarvis (@lisamjarvis) | The Haystack
• Liz Borkowski (@LizBorkowski) | The Pump Handle
• Maggie Koerth-Baker (@maggiekb1) | Boing Boing
• Marianne (@noodlemaz) | Purely a Figment of Your Imagination
• Maryn McKenna (@marynmck) | Superbug
• Michelle (@physilology) | C6-H12-O6
• Miriam (@oystersgarter) | Deep Sea News
• Naomi McAuliffe (@naomimc) | A Vagina Dentata
• Nancy Atkinson (@Nancy_A) | Nancy Atkinson
• 'Dr. O' (@microdro) | Academic Aspirations
• Oana Sandu (@oanasandu) | Communicating Astronomy
• Pamela Gay (@starstryder) | Star Stryder
• Pascale Lane (@PHLane) | Stream of Thought
• 'Pesska' (@pesska) | Royal Society Group Blog
• Dr. Petra Boynton (@drpetra) | Dr Petra Boynton
• 'Psi Wavefunction' (@psiwavefunction) | Skeptic Wonder
• Rachael Dunlop (@DrRachie) | The Skeptic's Book of Pooh-Pooh
• Rachel Walden (@rachel_w) | Women's Health News
• Rebecca Higgitt (@beckyfh) | Whewell's Ghost
• Rebecca Montague (@sanitizedfor) | Sanitized for your Protection
• Sandra Porter (@digitalbio) | Discovering Biology in a Digital World
• Sarah Kendrew (@sarahkendrew) | SarahAskew
• Sarah Murray (@SarahScientist) | Chemistress
• 'Scicurious' (@scicurious) | Neurotic Physiology
• S.C. Kavassalis (@sc_k) | The Language of Bad Physics
• S.E. Gould (@labratting) | Lab Rat
• Sharon Astyk | Casaubon's Book
• Sheril Kirshenbaum (@Sheril_) | The Intersection
• 'Captain Skellett' (@CaptainSkellett) | A Schooner of Science
• Sonya (@daGreatAntidote) | The Great Antidote
• Sophie Scott (@sophiescott) | Speaking Out (UCL)
• Susan Niebur (@WomenPlanetSci) | Women in Planetary Science
• Susan Steinhardt (@scisu) | BioData Blogs
• Tara Smith (@aetiology) | Aetiology
• 'Dr. Val' (@drval) | Better Health
• Vanessa Woods (@bonobohandshake) | Bonobo Handshake

 

(With particular thanks to: @alicebell, @smallcasserole, @sarahkendrew, @scicurious, @biochembelle, @geekingambia, @jomarchant, @aetiology, @BecCrew, @droenn, @tdelene, @hpringle, @kateclancy, @oanasandu, @elakdawalla, @tkingdoll, @anthinpractice,@hpringle and @culturingsci.)

That's 86 women science bloggers – clearly no shortage – so why aren't they breaking through and gaining more prominence?

What do you think, and who have I missed in the list above?