The annual conference of Associazione Donne e Scienza “Questioni di genere: le parole della scienza” (Gender issues: the words of science) was held at the National Research Council in Rome, Italy, from Nov. 30th to Dec. 1st, 2017.
The conference focused on two main topics: education (first session) and structural changes in the research institutions (second session). In the first session, the topic of stereotypes and equal opportunities in science was discussed starting from the point of view of the young generations. The vision of videos produced by Italian schools in a dedicated contest, launched by GENERA project, was the starting point of an interesting discussion (the winning videos of the contest are available at the link: http://www.cnrweb.tv/questioni-di-genere-le-parole-della-scienza/).
In the second session titled “Gender Issues in Academic and Research Institutions”, representatives of Structural Change European Projects -GENERA, GenisLab, GenderTime, GENOVATE and TRIGGER- presented the main results achieved in their experiences and some reflections about “the learnt lessons”. The main focus was about the sustainability of these results, in order to identify suitable actions to introduce structural changes in Higher Education Institutions and Research Performing Organizations. It was recognized the relevance of the role of the Association Women and Science in the European framework to disseminate a gender culture and to reinforce the network of the Structural Change Projects.
The debate among participants about gender perspectives and barriers at different levels–individual, institutional and in the society at large- will continue on line.
The annual General Assembly followed the conference, and the new Board of Responsibles, including the renewed charges of Presidency, Vice Presidency and Treasurer, was elected.
The conference was organized under the patronage of National Council of Research, the GENERA project, MUSE – Science museum of Trento and the National Institute of Geophysics and Vulcanology.
The program of the conference and the presentations in Italian are available at this link: http://www.cnrweb.tv/questioni-di-genere-le-parole-della-scienza/