Humanities are vital | Athene Donald

This week, the 'Being Human' Festival of the Humanities launches in London. Athene Donald argues that we must avoid seeing Humanities in opposition to Science.

Writer and journalist Cristina Odone sparked a furore this past weekend by suggesting that her daughter was being pressured to take science to GCSE and this was unreasonable for a child with a literary bent. More provocatively, she claimed that "" this focus on STEM [Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics] subjects sends a message that makes her (and me) uncomfortable: doing a man's work is more impressive than doing a woman's."

Like many others, I disagree profoundly with her position. As I've argued before, taking science to age 16 should simply be seen as part of obtaining a well-rounded education. Furthermore, identifying STEM as a man's subject leads in part to our crucial lack of diversity in the scientific workforce. Meanwhile, many male authors and poets might be surprised to learn that literature is 'woman's work'.