She overheard seniors planning to reject her PhD application. Seven days later, she had an offer

Back in the 1990s, working women were still treated differently at the workplace, and not in a good way. Dr. Iona Weir, a cell biologist, inventor, and CEO, sat down with Petra Bagust (@petrabagust) on her "Grey Areas with Petra Bagust" podcast to discuss how she got the chance to pursue her PhD. Weir had overheard her superiors discussing not funding her because they thought she would get pregnant soon, and it would be a waste of resources. What she did next stunned Bagust. She called Weir's audacity diabolical, but hilarious. The clip was shared on Instagram on May 13, 2026, and has gained 38,500 views and 510 likes since then.

What was her strategy?

At the time, Weir and four other students, who were fresh graduates, were supposed to get their PhDs funded. The men had already started their work, but she was still waiting for hers. After overhearing her seniors thinking of scrapping her application over 'child-bearing' concerns, Weir knew she had to do something to get her PhD started, so she got help from a friend who worked in Radiology. They switched the name on a stranger's fertility report with Weir's. She kept the envelope on her table, hoping someone would snoop around it. Continuing the plan, she moped around for an entire week, pretending to look sad and dejected, hinting that she had received some devastating news.

A week later, she got the green light to start her PhD. The funny part was years later, Weir did get pregnant, but by that time, she had already completed her PhD, so her seniors' confusion did not make a difference to her life anymore.

The fight for equal roles

The reason why Dr. Weir shared her story was the sexism she faced when she was a young woman. She noticed that the system often benefited men. She pointed out that even when women were put in leadership roles, they were rarely given major ones. They had to fight for their rights all the time, and this story is just one instance of a woman fighting to belong in the world of science.

Ironically, Weir was the first person in the world to suggest 'apoptosis' in plants, but people did not believe her. However, when a scientist from the U.S., 20 years her senior, said the same thing, people took it as 'dogma.' Weir also noted that sexism is not extinct. During her time, people were blunt with it, but now, it is much more subtle, making it more difficult to fight.

Rising discrimination against women

Discrimination against women in the workplace is not something new. Research from Young Women’s Trust revealed that it is actually getting worse. The number of women who reported experiencing discrimination at work rose from 42% in 2022 to 53% in 2024. This discrimination often translates into fewer opportunities, with 28% of women saying they were not given the same opportunities as men to progress at work. However, it was even worse for women of color. The discrimination went from 44% in 2022 to 61% in 2024. From Weir's time in the 1990s to the 21st century, women are still fighting for equal recognition and opportunities in the workplace.

People in the comments applauded Dr. Weir for doing what she had to do to earn her PhD, but they also pointed out the sad fact that she had to do it instead of being given equal opportunities. @maxenelondoncreative wrote, "The amount of times I was asked in my early 20s when I was planning on having kids was actually ridiculous (and illegal!)." @judykiellerup added, "Smart women deserve the world. What a bunch of asshats doing the funding."

You can follow Petra Bagust (@petrabagust) on Instagram for more interviews.

More on Scoop Upworthy

Woman shares simple tip on how she gets men to take her seriously at work

Woman working in a male-dominated job reveals her coworker's unbelievable reaction to her pregnancy

Woman changed her gender on LinkedIn as an experiment. It confirmed something she always suspected