• Today, BIST celebrates the International Day of Women and Girls in Science with a massive virtual event that connects 458 female scientists with 483 schools all over Catalonia. Women researchers will give talks on STEM disciplines to some 20,000 children, encouraging them to consider a STEM career while also promoting new role models in these fields.
• The event is organised by BIST and the Fundació Catalana per a la Recerca i la Innovació (FCRI), in collaboration with the Generalitat de Catalunya’s Department of Education.
Today, on the International Day of Women and Girls in Science (February 11th), the third edition of the #100tífiques initiative takes place, a massive virtual event to promote STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) vocations among girls and boys in Catalan schools. A series of simultaneous virtual talks will start at 10:30am by 458 female researchers. Some 20,000 students, from the 6th year in primary school to the 1st year in secondary school, from 483 schools in Catalonia will attend the talks. Of the 458 participating researchers, 218 come from Catalan research centres, including 76 from the BIST centres (CRG – 15, IBEC – 20, ICFO – 7, ICIQ – 8, ICN2 – 12, IFAE – 6, and IRB Barcelona – 8). Another 80 come from Catalan universities, 23 from foreign centres and universities, and 137 from about 50 companies including HP, Menarini Group, Boehringer Inhelgeim, B. Braun, BASF, Allianz, Alcon, Agbar/Cetaqua, Provital Group, Lubrizol, and Biokit.
According to UNESCO, only 28% of the world’s researchers and 35% of STEAM students are women. As Science magazine famously showed in a 2017 study, gender stereotypes related to science appear early, with girls considering themselves less bright than boys from the age of six. The most recent data shows this trend is ongoing. According to the TIMSS 2019 International Report (produced by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement [IEA] and Boston College), girls in the 4th grade of primary school in Spain perform 15 points below boys in mathematics and science.
In light of this, “#100tífiques” has been created to break gender stereotypes by highlighting the relevant and strategic roles women have in science and technology, both in the public and private research sectors. The initiative is designed to encourage children to see past any existing stereotypes and for girls especially to feel empowered to study science and technology.
“We want to recognise the contributions of women researchers to the advancement of science“, says Núria Bayó
Head of Academic Programmes at BIST, “to give students new role models, to break untrue gender stereotypes, and to create a more inclusive, diverse, and equitable scientific landscape in Catalonia.”
The format of the event also promotes networking and collaboration among women scientists working in public and private institutions, and in many areas of STEM and scientific management.
Laia Servera, editor and presenter of InfoK, gives #100tífiques introduction
Laia Servera, editor and presenter of the InfoK programme on the channel Super3, is presenting the event with an introductory video that will be shown at all 483 schools simultaneously this morning. Industrial engineer and diseuse Jennifer Smith, winner of the second edition of the Science Club Monologue Competition, will also participate by performing her famous monologue “The complexity of numbers” to all schools.
#100tífiques trobada
On January 21st, the #100tífiques Trobada de formació i networking (Training and Networking Meet-up) took place, with many of the participating women scientists in attendance. The event was designed to celebrate and discuss the active contributions of women in science and how to give them visibility to promote female researchers as role models among girls and boys. The event included guest speakers, forum discussions, and helpful tips for preparing the talks researchers will give today (February 11th).
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