UniPd and VIMM event

Women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (WSTEM) degrees: This is the theme for International Women’s Day in Science, established by UNESCO in December 2015 and celebrated every year on February 11. The role of women and girls in science is fundamental, not only as recipients but also Active promoters of dissemination, change and knowledge of scientific and technological disciplinessuch as engineering, mathematics and technology.

Despite significant progress, the data shows that more improvements are needed: According to UN surveys, Only 16% of girls graduated from science colleges, compared to 37% of boys. Also, from Aloria’s latest report, girls are subject to one pay difference He does not care about his male colleagues.

Therefore, the intent of International Women in Science Day is not only to promote equal opportunities for women in scientific careers but also to recognize the role of women in senior positions, which are currently held by only 23% of women. nationally.

“Women in Science” is the event organized by UniPd and VIMM

Many events around the world and also in Italy, in presence and online. One took place on Friday 11 February 2022 in a live broadcast from the seminar room at VIMM (Foundation for Advanced Biomedical Research). This is the fourth edition of the “Women in Science” event, promoted by VIMM Institute and the University of Padua in collaboration with the Marisa Bellisario Foundation.

The meeting opened with the intervention of the rector of the University of Padua, Daniela Mapelli, the first female president of the university, who recalled how the latter boasted of having graduated in 1678 as the world’s first woman, Elena Cornaro Piscopia.

Here is a comparison of the world champions of science who brought their experiences: Since the latest gender balance budgets, more and more girls are approaching science majors and leadership positions in the industrial and entrepreneurial fields. Indeed, in the course of generations past, one no longer looks at the gender of the person in front of him but at the skills and qualities he must offer, explained Alice Britto, President of Essay Group Srl and current President of Young Entrepreneur Assindustria Venetocentro.

It is important to invest in yourself and specialize in certain skillsenter into the perspective of foreign realities and gain curious and unique knowledge, particularly in the field of biomedical research, as evidenced by the experience of Cecilia Laterza, a VIMM Researcher and Research Fellow in the Department of Industrial Engineering at the University of Padua, who worked abroad and also brought with her a wealth of knowledge In Italy.

The event concluded by summarizing the words that the women in the meeting center said most often: passion, perseverance and sacrifice.. Three words to always keep in mind so that the value of female characters in the world of science is recognized.

Some of the women scientists who revolutionized our lives

During the aforementioned meeting on the occasion of International Women’s Day in Science, two of the greatest female scientists of all time were mentioned: Rita Levi-Montalcini and Marie Curie. Rita Levi Montalcini He was one of the greatest Italian scientists of the twentieth century, The only Italian to win the Nobel Prize in Medicine In 1986 thanks to the discovery of a protein that contributes to the development of the nervous system (Nerve growth factor – NGF). Embodying female characters who expended themselves in favor of research, a woman and a Jew who lived in the era of apartheid, Rita Levi-Montalcini never stopped studying and fighting women’s prejudice in the lab, even in the face of dictatorship and the horrors of war.

Marie Curie, the “mother of modern physics,” lived her life in the name of science, receiving the first Nobel Prize in Physics in 1903, the first time for a womanAnd a second Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1911 to isolate polonium and the radio Two new chemical elements were discovered with her husband. Frustrated at not being able to study at the University of Warsaw because she was a woman, she first returned to a secret institution guaranteeing an education for young Poles, and after a few years she was finally able to study physics in Paris thanks to a pact with her sister. A woman and a scientist offers us a starting point for thinking about the state of the female figure in past centuries and today.

Sponsored by Angela Apicella