ANSO Online Conference 2021--Women in Science

09 12, 2021

Gender equality (UN SDG No.5) plays a vital role in achieving sustainable, high-quality development. Although gender disparity has significantly narrowed over the past decades with an increasing number of women in various fields of Science, including Technology, Engineering, Math and Medicine (STEMM), as well as Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH), existing research shows that, while men continue to dominate in these fields, especially in leadership positions, the achievements of female scientists is still not adequately visible in terms of participation, promotion and production. To empower women’s participation and encourage the gender diversity in science fields, ANSO, the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (MTA), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and the Organization for Women in Science for the Developing World (OWSD) jointly organized an international workshop titled “Women in Science –Towards a Diversity of Research and Researcher” on 18-19. Nov. 2021, to raise awareness of the career challenges of women scientists, highlight the outstanding contributions of women scientists, and encourage more younger women to join in the science fields in the future.

The event kicked off by Prof. Ailikun, Assistant Executive Director of ANSO Secretariat, Prof. Ferenc Hudecz, Vice President of MTA, Prof. Jennifer A. Thomson, President of OWSD, Dr. Lily Eurwilaichitr, Vice President of National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA), Prof. Enikő Bollobás, Presidential Committee on Women in Science of MTA, who together welcomed all the participants and introduced the background of the meeting.

Traditional culture and national gender policy are significant effectors to gender imbalance in science fields. A number of elite female scientists shared their insights, experiences and suggestions to solve these problems. Prof. Jennifer A. Thomson shared the vision and activities of OWSD by emphasizing the contributions, aspirations, needs and capabilities of women scientists in developing countries. Prof. Mina Stareva, Head of Gender Sector in DG Research and Innovation of European Commission, introduced the Gender Equality Plan (GEP) that the EU implemented in research organizations and higher education institutions to advocate for gender equality. Prof. Gretchen Kalonji, Co-chair of ANSO Association of DRR (Disaster Risk Reduction), Dean of the Institute for Disaster Management and Reconstruction in Sichuan University, suggested developing leadership capacity for gender innovations through science, technology and policy networks. Prof. ZHENG Xiaoying, Dean of the APEC Health Science Academy in Peking University, emphasized the importance of rebuilding current education system with a gender perspective. Prof. Enikő Bollobás, introduced how MTA transitioned from a men-leading organization to a gender-sensitive workplace in Hungary. Prof. Miyoko O. Watanabe, Executive Director and Director for the Office for Diversity and Inclusiveness, Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST), introduced the national approach to promote the gender equality and diversity through gender-based STI projects in Japan. Dr. Moniek Tromp, from Young Academy of Europe gave a detailed introduction of gender policy in Europe.

In the second session, a group of leading female scientists, including Prof. QIE Xiushu from the Institute of Atmospheric Physics of CAS, Prof. Chao Mbogo from School of Science and Technology of Kenya Methodist University, Prof. Ágnes Kóspál from Konkoly Observatory of Research Centre for Astronomy and Earth Sciences, Prof. GAO Bo from the Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry of CAS, Prof. Anchalee Manonukul, from National Metal and Materials Technology Center of NSTDA and Dr. YUAN Yuan, China Country Representative of PATH, gave inspiring talks about unleashing their talents in various scientific fields.

In the end of workshop, the release of “ANSO-MTA-OWSD Joint Statement” to demonstrate gender diversity in science fields was approved by all participants. Prof. CAO Jinghua, Executive Director of ANSO Secretariat, and Prof. Enikő Bollobás chaired the two-day workshop respectively. More than 500 people watch the workshop through live stream.