Anna
The new campaign by the Catalan Government 'Dona Ciència. Dona Tecnologia' to visibilize female talent and show current references to young people started on Monday, 13 March 2023. The campaign is in the framework of the Government's 'DonaTIC Plan'. The aim of the campaign is to promote new scientific and technological vocations among girls and to increase the female presence in professions and studies linked to these fields.
Video of the campaign of M. Rosa Palacín
The presentation was done at a school, in front of secondary school students who had plenty of questions for the women scientists. The dialogue between 10 of the women of the campaign and the students from 1st to 4th ESO of the Institut Escola Eixample was the focus of the presentation event, led by the secretary of Digital Policies, Gina Tost Faus.
Students of Escola Eixample at the inauguration of the campaign
About the campaign
Twelve women of various ages and with a relevant career in the scientific and/or technological fields are the stars of th campaign 'Dona Ciència. Dona Tecnologia' (Woman Science. Woman Technology).
The initiative is promoted by the Department of Business and Work, through the Secretariat of Digital Policies and within the framework of the 'DonaTIC Plan', with the aim of recognizing and giving visibility to contemporary female talent in these areas and showing it as a reference for young people. The ultimate aim is to promote new scientific and technological vocations among girls and to increase the female presence in these professions and in the studies that precede them.
The campaign was launched on Monday, 13 March 2023 in the mornng, by the Secretary of Digital Policies, Gina Tost i Faus, with an event that took place at the Eixample Highschool, in Barcelona, and which was attended by 10 of the women of the campaign. The live dialogue between these leading women in their fields and the students of the educational center, almost 200 girls and boys between 12 and 16 years old, centered the start of the campaign, which was also attended by the general director of Societat Digital, Liliana Arroyo i Moliner.
10 of the 12 women at the inauguration of the campaign, with Gina Tost, of the TIC GenCat
The three axes of the campaign
This one-on-one interaction between the students and the women, led and dynamized by secretary Tost, made it possible to share concerns, reflections and proposals around three axes that have inspired this campaign:
- the low visibility of current female references in strongly masculinized fields such as scientific research, engineering and ICT
- the low presence of women in these sectors, especially in technical and/or managerial positions
- the low numbers of pre-registrations, matriculations and degrees in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) studies, even more meager in the case of girls.
To reverse these data and reduce gender bias in these areas, the Government has launched this 'DonaTIC Plan', which has among its main lines of action to recognize the fundamental role of women in new technologies and to give references to girls and teenagers who consider dedicating themselves to STEM disciplines with the ultimate goal of promoting scientific and technological vocations among girls and increasing the presence and leadership of women in the technological and digital field.
The twelve women of the campaign
Among the twelve women of the campaign we find ICMAB Research Professor M. Rosa Palacín, expert in the field of batteries. M. Rosa Palacín. Palacín is an expert in solid state chemistry and electrochemistry applied to batteries, from commercial concepts based on nickel or lithium, to new alternative and emerging technologies based on abundant elements such as sodium, magnesium or calcium.
Poster of the campaign that you can find in metro stations or bus stops in Barcelona
Specialist in creating bridges and synergies between basic research, applied research and industry. She has led and participated in multiple European projects and is part of international associations and consortia in the field of batteries. Her research has been recognised with the International Battery Association (IBA) Research Award 2021, she has been appointed Fellow of the Electrochemical Society, and in 2022 she was awarded with the Miguel Catalán-Paul Sabatier prize by the Chemical French Society.
The twelve women are: Montserrat Alsina, Àurea Autet, Marta Bertran, Caterina Biscari, Elisenda Bou-Balust, Magda Campins, Ana I. Caño-Delgado, Judit Giró, Núria López-Bigas, Nuria Montserrat, M. Rosa Palacín, and Teresa Tarragó. All of them work in Catalan institutions, either universities, research or technological centers, in differents fileds of science.
Poster of the campaign in the Metro and FGC station in Plaça Catalunya, Barcelona