The dearth of women, especially in leadership positions, is a well-known problem in the science and technology industries. Good examples of female participation in this field are therefore important in contributing to a more diverse environment. By creating science demonstrations on television, science and engineering presenter Fran Scott (pictured) teaches scientific topics but also helps to address the diversity issue.

Scott is most known for her demonstrations on the U.K.’s CBBC’s “Absolute Genius with Dick and Dom,” as an engineering judge on “Lego Masters,” and as an expert on “Abandoned Engineering.”

“There’s that classic phrase that ‘You can’t be what you can’t see.’ So, yes, [being a woman in science] comes with responsibility. But also there’s a lot of fun,” Scott said.

Scott spoke with Stu Miniman (@stu) and Rebecca Knight (@knightrm), co-hosts of theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s mobile livestreaming studio, during the .NEXT Europe event in Denmark. They discussed how science can be for everyone, what it means to be a woman in this field, and the importance of great design to the technology industry (see the full interview with transcript here). (* Disclosure below.)

From backstage worker to famous presenter

Prior to doing science demonstrations that reach an impressive U.K. audience, Scott used to work mainly behind the scenes “just trying to get the science right. And then I realized there was no one like me doing science presenting,” Scott said. “The girl was always the little bit of extra on the side, and it was the man who was the knowledgeable one that was showing how to do the science.”

To help change this situation, Scott runs a business where she can train other new presenters to follow her path. “I also try and actually work with a lot of TV shows and work on their language. And so by showing that, then I’m hopefully encouraging more people to do it. But it’s about getting out and encouraging the next generation to do it as well,” she stated.

A neuroscientist by education but an engineer at heart, Scott has engaged in public demonstrations to arouse people’s interest in science. The idea is to show how science works rather than just talking about it.

“I think science itself is exciting if people are allowed to understand how brilliant it is,” Scott said. “Some of the troubles come from when people take the step too big. The way I say it is, anyone can understand anything as long as you make the steps to get there small enough.”

Watch the complete video interview below, and be sure to check out more of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s coverage of the .NEXT Europe event. (* Disclosure: TheCUBE is a paid media partner for the .NEXT Europe event. Neither Nutanix Inc., the sponsor for theCUBE’s event coverage, nor other sponsors have editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

Photo: SiliconANGLE