Homeward Bound is an organisation based in Australia that holds leadership programs for

women in science The presence of women in science spans the earliest times of the history of science wherein they have made substantial contributions. Historians with an interest in gender and science have researched the scientific endeavors and accomplishments ...

. Founded in 2015, the leadership program aims to increase the representation of women in leadership roles in science fields. Homeward Bound participants go through a twelve month training program that is focused on the topic of

climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...

and concludes with a three-week expedition to

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean (also known as the Antarctic Ocean), it contains the geographic South Pole. ...

. The first Homeward Bound expedition in 2016 attracted media attention as it was the largest ever all-woman expedition to Antarctica, with 76 participating scientists. Expeditions organised in the following years have had more participants.

Program

Australian marine ecologist

Jessica Melbourne-Thomas Jessica Melbourne-Thomas (born 17 May 1981) is a marine, Antarctic, and climate change scientist with the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, Australia. Her research focuses on climate change, its effects on the marine ...

and entrepreneur Fabian Dattner founded Homeward Bound in 2015 out of discussions regarding the challenges encountered by

. Until the mid-20th century, women were discouraged from exploring

. Only in 1969 did the first American team of women researchers reach the continent. The goal of Homeward Bound is to increase the representation of women in leadership roles in science fields. To that end, it plans to organise expeditions to Antarctica for a decade and establish a network of a thousand women capable of taking on these roles and shaping policy. The program has participants go through twelve months of leadership training based around the topic of

. It is concluded with a three-week expedition to Antarctica, where participants observe the effects of climate change on Antarctica. A main sponsor of the program is the Spanish energy firm

Acciona Acciona, S.A. () is a Spanish multinational conglomerate dedicated to the development and management of infrastructure (construction, water, industrial and services) and renewable energy. The company, via subsidiary Acciona Energía, produces 21 ...

History

In 2016, Homeward Bound made its inaugural Antarctic expedition with seventy-six scientists from various fields, then reported to be the largest all-woman expedition to Antarctica. Lack of government support prevented them from sailing out of

Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...

, where the program was founded, and instead launch was set in

Ushuaia Ushuaia ( , ) is the capital city, capital of Tierra del Fuego Province, Argentina, Tierra del Fuego, Antártida e Islas del Atlántico Sur Province, Argentina. With a population of 82,615 and a location below the 54th parallel south latitude, U ...

, Argentina. They departed on 2 December and spent twenty days at sea, exploring the

Antarctic Peninsula The Antarctic Peninsula, known as O'Higgins Land in Chile and Tierra de San Martin in Argentina, and originally as Graham Land in the United Kingdom and the Palmer Peninsula in the United States, is the northernmost part of mainland Antarctica. ...

and landing at various American and Argentinian research stations. A documentary on the first expedition, ''The Leadership'', covered participants' experiences and criticism of the program, including allegations of harassment and assault experienced by some participants; claims of one such sexual assault were first published in a 2018 article in ''

Grist Grist is grain that has been separated from its chaff in preparation for grinding. It can also mean grain that has been ground at a gristmill. Its etymology derives from the verb ''grind.'' Grist can be ground into meal or flour, depending on h ...

'' magazine. Homeward Bound made its next two expeditions in 2018. A second group of seventy-eight participants embarked in February and a third group of eighty participants did so in December. A fourth group of one hundred participants made the expedition in November 2019. Each of the three expeditions was reported to be the largest all-woman expedition to Antarctica at its time. In 2019, participants were selected for a fifth expedition in 2020, however this was delayed until 2023 due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. In October 2020, a coalition of 289 scientists and conservation experts associated with Homeward Bound called for the creation of a new

marine protected area A marine protected area (MPA) is a protected area of the world's seas, oceans, estuaries or in the US, the Great Lakes. These marine areas can come in many forms ranging from wildlife refuges to research facilities. MPAs restrict human activity ...

around the western

. The commentary was published in ''

Nature Nature is an inherent character or constitution, particularly of the Ecosphere (planetary), ecosphere or the universe as a whole. In this general sense nature refers to the Scientific law, laws, elements and phenomenon, phenomena of the physic ...

'' just as governments convened for the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources. In 2021, a sixth program of 100 participants was reported to leave in early 2022.

References

External links

* {{Official website, https://homewardboundprojects.com.au/ Organisations based in Australia 2016 establishments in Australia Training organizations Antarctic expeditions 2010s in Antarctica 2020s in Antarctica 2010s in science 2020s in science

Program

History

See also

References

External links