Total Pageviews

Blog Archive

Search This Blog

Featured

Featured (7)

Branches

Victor Roosensplein 7
2170 Merksem
Gsm: +32 488 10 59 38
Fax: +32 2 212 19 03
antwerpen@fedactio.be
Martelarenlaan 46
3500 Hasselt
+32 11 43 64 05
Fax: +32 11 43 65 40
limburg@fedactio.be
Kartuizerlaan 107
9000 Gent
+32 483 65 18 59
gent@fedactio.be
Rue jumet 175,
6030 Marchienne au Pont
Tel: +32 71 13 80 30
GSM : +32 472 854368
hainaut@fedactio.be
Rue de Fexhe 26,
4000 Liège
Tel: +32 4 233 54 52
liege@fedactio.be
Load More
Trendy Right Now

Popular Posts

Banner

Banner
Navigation
Showing posts with label Woman in the spotlight. Show all posts
Women and Society
Blog Brussels Education Francolympiades National Pangea MathQuiz Woman in the spotlight Women and Society

[Woman in the spotlight] Laurence Broze: fighting for gender equality in mathematics



On the occasion of the French-speaking final of the MathQuiz, Fedactio gave the floor to the guest of honour, Laurence Broze, professor of applied mathematics at the University of Lille and vice-president of the association "Femmes et mathématiques" [literally: Women & Mathematics], who divides her time between teaching and research. Mrs Broze fights for gender equality in mathematics.


Could you tell us a bit more about your association?

Women & Mathematics has already been existing for about thirty years. We have three main objectives. First, we want to introduce young people to mathematics professions and studies and encourage girls in particular to get involved. Secondly, we also want to fight against gender stereotypes in mathematics and we also want to fight for more parity in the mathematics professions. These are our three main objectives.

Could you tell us what are the actions the association undertakes?

We visit a lot of schools including high schools and universities. We organize days to introduce young girls to the mathematical professions. We also organize an annual conference of female doctoral students in mathematics to encourage girls to pursue a thesis in mathematics. And then we also participate in various actions to promote parity in order to try to raise awareness in academic and private research circles about the promotion of women in these professions.

Why is it necessary to promote mathematics in particular?

If we take a look at mathematics in college, it is the only area (in France) where the proportion of women is not increasing. In other disciplines, there is an increase (sometimes slow), but in maths, nothing. It even tends to decrease. We do not always know why, but we try to sensitize the whole community so that they can mobilize against it. Female professors of mathematics are becoming extremely rare (30 in all for all of France). As an association, we are sad to see that young girls are not involved in it, or only to a very limited extent. I think they are afraid of the sexist behaviour of the profession and not being in their place, but they should not be discouraged. We have to fight to find our place in maths as we have found in other professions.

What would you say to young people who want to study mathematics? Is this a promising career path?

I want to tell them that it is a great job and they should not be embarrassed if they want to do maths. This is an area where it is easy to find a job because there is a shortage of mathematicians. As it is a profession in short supply, you can work on what you want after your studies, and you can even negotiate your salary if you ever work in the private sector. You can have great future prospects, because mathematics is everywhere. We need maths, even maths that we invent without really knowing what it will be used for, and that always ends up being used for something. Mathematicians are given a great deal of autonomy to do research in the subjects they like because we know that, sooner or later, it will be useful for something and that it is a real investment in humanity's knowledge. I would also tell them to see mathematics as a universal language. In all countries of the world, maths is done in the same way. This means that if they become mathematicians, they will belong to a large global community. I wish them the happiness of making mathematics their profession.
Read more »
Youth
Blog Brussels Ecology National Woman and Society Woman in the spotlight Youth

[Woman in the spotlight] Stella Diamant and the Whale Sharks Conservation


In the line of its campaign of promoting women in science, Fedactio puts Stella Diamant in the spotlight, a young Belgian marine biologist, and internationally recognized specialist in the study and conservation of whale sharks.

From Brussels, Stella Diamant took interest in environmental issues from an early age. She first studied biology at Warwick University in the UK, were she focused on the effects of plastic pollution on marine environments, before applying in 2011 to the “Youth Volunteer Internship Programme” with the WWF organisation. This programme gave her the opportunity to travel to Madagascar to study marine conservation awareness. In 2014 she pursued her studies with a Master of Science degree at Imperial College London. 

After her graduation, she launched a project called "Madagascar Whale Shark Project" (MWSP) on Nosy Be island. It has been three years now that she dedicates her life to the study of whale sharks. Whale sharks are listed as globally threatened species due to the trade of its fins. The goals pursued by this world unique project centre on two main approaches : firstly studying the whale sharks, and secondly raising awareness amongst local actors, two absolutely essentials to safeguard their conservation.
In order to study these marine animals, Stella and her team collect data concerning their movements or their eating habits. They also use photo-identification to identify the whale sharks and  determine if their population increases or decreases. Their research led to discover that the waters surrounding Nosy Be island where a feeding hotspot for juveniles. Hence the necessity to protect the area to perpetuate the species. This code contains a series of ethical rules such as prohibiting boats from being within fifteen meters from a whale shark and swimmers from using a flash when they photograph the animals. Since the publication of this code, which has been displayed in many public places and hotels of the island, a clearly visible progress has been recorded at sea. As a consequence of whale sharks being less stressed, their interactions with human beings are more peaceful.
Apart from the display of the code, the staff of MWSP conducts awareness campaigns to educate the population about the socio-economic importance of these species, especially amongst Malagasy children to turn them into ambassadors of biodiversity. Indeed, island’s youngsters constitute one of the most important relay in a country where poverty usually does not put environmental issues at the top of the priorities.

Fedactio can only support the work of this Belgian young researcher. Starting as a simple student, she is at 29 at the head of a research foundation and got the job of her dreams. Despite the difficulties - her project requirering to be proactive and spending many hours studying and looking for funds - she proved us that by being brave and motivated, we can work for a better future. By highlighting the MWSP, Fedactio wants to put in the spotlight the underlying issues to her work such as protection of the environment and species preservation. The only way to solve those issues is by educating and sensibilizing future generations to the ecological issues. Therefore, it was important for us, as a Federation of associations, to give credit to the actions undertaken by Stella Diamant and her team. Her activities are in line with some of our platforms such as “Women and Society” which aims to give more visibility to feminin initiatives in our society, and “Youth” which encourages young people to take part and initiate social projects. We hope that Stella Diamant’s  background will inspire you.


Read more »
Women and Society
Blog Brussels Education Feminism Gender Interview National Professionals Science Woman in the spotlight Women and Society

[Woman in the spotlight] Angélique Léonard: empowerment of women in science

This week, Fedactio honours Angélique Léonard, Professor of Chemical Engineering at the Faculty of Applied Sciences of the University of Liège and chair of the "Femmes & Sciences" Committee of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation. In the context of the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, we spoke with Ms Léonard about her work to promote gender equality and empower girls and women in applied science.

Could you start by introducing yourself in a few words and describing your professional background?

My name is Angélique Léonard. I trained as a civil engineer in chemistry and materials science at the University of Liège. After my engineering studies, I completed a doctoral thesis followed by a postdoctoral stay abroad in Bordeaux and London. Then, I obtained a standing mandate as a qualified researcher at the FNRS and in 2009, I became a lecturer on a theme related to sustainable development in industrial processes. Since then, I have risen through the various ranks of the academic career, becoming professor and finally full professor. Since 2016, I have been a member of the “Femmes & Sciences” Committee and in May 2018, I have been chosen to be the chair of the committee.

Speaking of the “Femmes & Sciences” Committee, could you explain what it is and what its functions and activities are?

This committee had been existing in an unofficial way for about between 15 and 20 years before being officially established by a decree in 2016. The main objective of the committee is to promote equal careers for women and men, especially in the scientific and academic fields. To do this, we had to undertake various actions. Firstly, we had to highlight the figures, which means we had to obtain gender statistics on the different fields of study and careers. Secondly, we also had to define a set of good practices to be disseminated within universities and see how we can help to improve the reconciliation of private and professional life in order to encourage the presence of women in the highest positions of this type of career.

How do you explain such an under-representation of women in STEM studies and careers?

As we have seen during this day, this is an extremely complex issue since we have seen that, in the end, women are just as competent as men. Indeed, when conditions are favourable, [Editor’s note. literally “stereotypes’ falsification”] their performance is similar to that of men. However, we can see that we have been immersed in a gendered representation of trades since we were very young, and we clearly see that because of this context, girls are moving more naturally towards trades in the fields of social work, personal assistance, childhood, health (medical, paramedical) or education and it is no accident. In fact, we can clearly see that women have put in place strategies to reconcile professional and private life and in most cases, these professions allow the necessary flexibility to reconcile these two aspects. On the other hand, we also note that boys project themselves more in the technical field, in production and in professions where the notions of competitiveness and performance are predominant. We must admit that these are not skills or profiles that are generally associated with girls. Once again, this amalgam is the result of stereotypes and it is precisely these stereotypes that must be questioned and challenged.

In your opinion, which are the main obstacles to the integration of women in STEM fields?

I do not think there are any real obstacles to integration. This is primarily because they do not choose STEM. However, when we talk about integration at different career levels, if we consider a career in STEM at the industrial level, we realize that the obstacles encountered are generally related to the reconciliation of private and professional life. For example, in my promotion as a civil engineer in chemistry, we were five girls. Only one of us tried the industry experience but she had a mental breakdown after about 5 years because of the extremely high pressure she experienced in her job. Maybe she was putting too much pressure on herself. A little later, she reoriented herself towards teaching, as did my other classmates and myself. When I made the choice to stay in university, while not knowing if I would have the opportunity to pursue a career there, I also took into account the reconciliation of my private life and my professional life. This reconciliation represents a real obstacle, given that, as we have seen during this day, the education of children remains a women responsibility for the most part, although this is changing.

In your opinion, what are the political actions to implement in order to promote the integration of women in these sectors?

We actually realize that today, we have all the cards to make things move in the right direction. We can thus cite the Pact for an Excellent Education implemented by the Wallonia-Brussels Federation, which contains various points aimed at introducing all these technological concepts at the core curriculum. Its objective is to ensure that girls and boys have access to the same types of curricula and learn the same subjects so that there is no difference at this level. The fact that teachers, who will interact with children, have the opportunity to receive continuous training within companies and in skills training centres, makes it possible for them to be able to adapt their teaching methods and ensure that their courses are always in line with the rapidly changing society. We can also mention the initial training of teachers since the decree was passed last week in Parliament. Everything has to be built. The teaching toolkits provide for the gender notion to be integrated in a transversal way in the training of future teachers, but it must also be operationalized in the right way so that they can deconstruct stereotypes and have this gendered approach in their curricula and in the lessons they will teach children later on.

If you had a message for girls and young women who are reluctant to pursue STEM studies or careers, what would it be?

I would say to these young women they have to dare. They are as competent as men and if they dare to pursue STEM studies, there are plenty of great careers waiting for them, so do not be afraid and make the choice of STEM if it is what you want to!


Angélique Léonard holds a master's degree in chemical engineering and a doctorate in applied sciences. Aware of environmental issues a long time ago, she sensed from her studies that the treatment of sewage sludge would be a major challenge. Author of a final thesis on an industrial unit for drying sludge from wastewater treatment plants, she continued her subject with her doctoral thesis (2003). She is the first researcher in the world to have used X-ray microtomography imaging technology to study the drying of deformable materials, including sewage sludge, but also synthetic gels and agri-food products. 
Since 2007, she has been a qualified FNRS researcher. Today, she is a full professor at the Faculty of Applied Sciences of the University of Liège, where she has headed the chemical engineering research unit since 2016. She has received several awards, including the Frédéric Swarts Award delivered by the Royal Academy of Science, Letters and Fine Arts of Belgium awarded to original scientific research in the chemical industry. She has co-authored more than 120 articles in international journals and more than 120 conference proceedings.
In May 2018, Mrs Léonard was chosen to be the chair of the “Femmes & Sciences” Committee created in 2016 by the Wallonia-Brussels Federation. The committee supports the empowerment of women in academic and scientific institutions. The council provides advice and recommendations on gender equality and discusses actions to be taken in this regard.
Mrs Léonard's work is perfectly in line with the actions implemented by Fedactio to give women a voice. We salute her career and all she has done for women in science. Finally, Fedactio supports the mission of the committee she represents to promote gender equality in applied sciences.
Read more »
Women and Society
Feminism Gender Woman in the spotlight Women and science Women and Society

[Woman in the spotlight] Nisreen Al-Hashemite and the International Day of Women and Girls in Science

11:44 0
On this International Day of Women and Girls in Science, we put Nisreen Al-Hashemite, a Iraqi princess who dedicated her life to science, in the spotlight. 

“We need to encourage girls and young women to pursue science and stay in science careers”, those are the words of Nisreen El-Hashemite, founder and president of Women in Science International League, and the Executive Director of the Royal Academy of Science International Trust (RASIT). The “Science Princess”, who is a member of the royal family of Iraq, holds a PhD in Human Genetics and a Medical Doctorate. When everyone told her that “science is not for royalty”, she persevered nevertheless. The International Day of Women and Girls in Science, which will take place on February 11, was created in 2015 when the General Assembly decided to recognize women and girls in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). The idea was to focus on gender equality, to ensure that girls can benefit from an education and increase the possibility for women to work in the field of STEM. Nisreen El-Hashemite is indeed a great example, she advocates for gender equality in science, encourages young girls and women to pursue in this field. Her non-governmental organization RASIT is committed to sustaining future and to promoting excellence in education and science. Moreover, RASIT works with UN Women and other international organizations. RASIT launched a specific program dedicated to women and girls called “Science Princess, Global Campaign for Women and Girls in Science”. Science Princess celebrates the achievement of women who have forged the way for those of us in science today, to reach equality and parity in science. According to UNESCO data, less than 30% of researchers worldwide are women. This number is due to strong stereotypes that take women and girls away from science-related fields. Talking about girls and women in the field of science leads us to bridge the gender gap to achieve sustainable development such as improving health or combatting climate change. The main goal is to see more women becoming scientist and help make the world sustainable. Indeed, having more women or young girls in scientific fields and research could speed things up. As Princess Nisreen said “Science is the basis for many solutions to the world’s challenges. If women aren’t a part of science, technology, engineering or mathematics, they will be left out. Science and technology are the future and the future belongs to everyone”.
Read more »
World Cancer Day
Blog Cancer Feminism Gender Immunology Interview Woman in the spotlight Women and Society World Cancer Day

[Woman in the spotlight] Interview with Sophie Lucas, researcher and professor in cancer immunology



[Woman in the spotlight] In the context of World Cancer Day, Fedactio had the opportunity to speak with Sophie Lucas, researcher and professor in cancer immunology, about her daily life as a woman of science.
Interview by Alexandre Thiry
Could you tell us more about your background and motivations as a researcher?

My name is Sophie Lucas and I am a researcher in cancer immunology at the Duve Institute, which is a biomedical research institute hosting several laboratories of the faculty of medicine of UCL (Université Catholique de Louvain), where I am also professor. I studied medicine and then decided to devote myself to research. What motivates me is working in the biomedical branch to understand how organisms work, and especially the human being’s, but also how they dysfunction in the presence of very specific diseases such as cancer. As a team, we try to understand how the immune system can detect tumour cells and reject them in patients with cancer. Above all, we try to determine how to manipulate it to be able to correct these dysfunctions and develop new forms of cancer therapy.

What is immunology?

Immunology is a branch of biology that covers the study of immune system’s responses, the way our body defends itself against external aggressions, mainly of the microbial infection type (by viruses, parasites, bacteria…) but also against other forms of aggression which can come from within such as the development of cancer. We now know that our immune system is able to recognize tumour cells and reject them. This is the specific field of tumour immunology.

What does an immunologist’s daily life look like?

The daily life of an immunologist is very similar to that of any biomedical researcher, which means laboratory work and team meetings.  My job consists in managing a team of around ten people working in the laboratory on a joint research project. This team includes doctoral and post-doctoral students, as well as laboratory technicians. We handle reagents of different types, either cells that are grown in vitro or molecules whose modifications are examined following certain treatments, but also animal experiments. The closer we get to a potential clinical application, the more necessary it becomes to conduct animal experiments to test new forms of treatment that could eventually be applied to humans. My daily routine is to interact with all those people who are conducting cellular, molecular, or in vivo experiments, and to discuss with them the interpretation of the results, the direction of the project, hoping that from time to time an original idea will emerge and eventually lead to the development of a new drug.

As a woman, have you ever experienced any difficulties in your work?

Direct difficulties, specifically related to my gender, honestly not really, but I have experienced organizational difficulties. It is always difficult for a woman to find her place in a work environment, knowing that a lot of time and importance is given to her family life, to carry children when she wants them. All this has an impact on our working life. That said, I personally found answers to these questions, quickly realizing that my work was a very important thing and that I wanted to devote a lot of energy and passion to it. All this required some accommodation. In my case, I had the chance to have children with a person who left a lot of space for this passion. So, I would say that as a woman, and as a scientist, I have had more support than real disabilities in my career.


We often hear that science is mainly a male environment, is it true?
What do you think would be the cause of this imbalance?

Yes, it is true. I cannot even remember the number of meetings I attend, with people in higher hierarchical positions, where I am the only woman. Still today in 2019, the percentage of women in decision-making positions in the field of science is abnormally low. It would be very difficult for me to identify the root causes and origins of this disproportion, because I am not a sociologist, but I am somehow obliged to acknowledge the facts. Maybe women still have a bit of trouble giving their work the place it needs when they progress in their functions, in their careers? It is even more surprising since in the field of biomedical, pharmaceutical or medical sciences, there is a majority of young women students or doctoral candidates. In my laboratory too, women are in the majority. Beyond that, the proportion of women who persist (postdoctoral training) gradually decreases. We - women - must be very careful to ensure that we persist and progress in our careers without considering our gender as a disability. It must no longer be so today.

Isn't the fact that you have more female students in your field due to the "female" image that our society attributes to health care?

When we have chosen the path of basic research in the biomedical sciences, we are moving relatively far away from direct patient care. In my career, even though I am a physician by training, I have never had to interact with patients after my medical internships. My job is different, it is still a rigorous fundamental science, explicable at the molecular level. I do not know if it is the possibility of care, of therapy that justifies having more female students in biomedical programs. It remains an enigma to me.

What advice would you give to young people who wish to resume studies in this field?

At 50, when I look back, I have absolutely no regrets. I tell myself that I had the chance to have a great activity, so I would encourage these young people to get started. Now, do I have any specific advice for young women who want to go down this path? Maybe to think about them when they organize their family life. Because one day, when children grow up and leave, it is important to have something that motivates us incredibly. Research careers, in the field of biomedical sciences, but also in any scientific field as well as in the human sciences, can take you to the very long term. After the formation of a family, having raised children, and having brought them to independence, there is still a lifetime left. When you have the chance to do an exciting job, it is this whole life after that remains exciting.

What do you think about the place devoted to research in Belgium?

I think we have nothing to complain about because we are fortunate to live in a developed country where a significant proportion of GDP is devoted to basic academic research. I believe that the funding of basic research must be supported by the State if we want our societies to progress. If I am lucky enough to work in a country where research is relatively well funded, I think more support would benefit everyone.

Read more »
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)