Covid 19 coronavirus: Siouxsie Wiles named in BBC's list of 100 inspiring women

Siouxsie Wiles is one of 100 women named in BBC's list of inspiring women for 2020 Photo / Sarah Ivey

New Zealand's own microbiologist Siouxsie Wiles has been named one of BBC's 100 inspiring and influential women.

Wiles is among 100 inspiring and influential women from around the world including actress and activist Jane Fonda, Moroccan rapper Houda Abouz and Brazilian
Transgender model Lea T.

So here's something I didn't see coming back in January, being one of the BBC's 100 most inspiring and influential women of the year! What an honour! And check out the other 99. https://t.co/P6zuet94Xl

— Dr Siouxsie Wiles (@SiouxsieW) November 24, 2020

The scientist at the University of Auckland went to Twitter last night to share the surprising news.

"So here's something I didn't see coming back in January, being one of the BBC's 100 most inspiring and influential women of the year!

"What an honour! And check out the other 99."

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The BBC said Wiles had been a "force of nature" during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The BCC also acknowledged her work with cartoonist Toby Morris.

"She has collaborated with cartoonist Toby Morris to communicate the science of Covid-19; their work together includes the popular 'flatten the curve' visualisation, which has been translated into many languages and adapted by governments to help people understand lockdowns," it said.

Looking for a set of #COVID19 explainers? The boxset of graphics by @XTOTL & me just got bigger! Updated to include masks, genomics, vaccines, contacts, the disease triangle, as well as all the old faves like exponential spread. @TheSpinoffTV #COVID19nz https://t.co/UoATCsSsld

— Dr Siouxsie Wiles (@SiouxsieW) September 4, 2020

This year's theme for the BCC 2020 list was "woman who led change".

Women on the list were chosen because they "made headlines or influenced important stories over the past 12 months", achieved "something significant" or influenced their societies.

Back in 2018 Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta made the BBC's 100 Women list.