BIST and the Barcelona City Council join forces to promote women's leadership in research and science

by Virginia Greco

With the aim of promoting gender equality in leadership positions in science, the Barcelona City Council and BIST signed an agreement to implement specific measures to support female researchers, especially in the early or intermediate stages of their careers.

The Barcelona City Council has signed an agreement to finance and support a series of initiatives led by BIST, the Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, oriented at strengthening the presence of women in science, particularly in top research positions. With a monetary contribution of 200,000 euros, the City Council and BIST will implement the "Women leaders in science and technology" Plan, which includes concrete measures to support post-doctoral women researchers and female junior group leaders, as well as to train children and young people in science and technology.

The aim of this important agreement is to achieve gender equality in leadership positions in science, while reinforcing Barcelona's cultural and scientific capital. According to data from the European Commission's Directorate-General for Research and Innovation study "She Figures 2021, gender in research and innovation: statistics and indicators", almost half of all PhD graduates are women, but they represent only 24% of the heads of academic institutions. In science and technology-related disciplines, the proportion of women is even lower.

As part of the plan, BIST will continue to run the Mothers of Science Programme, started in 2018, which focuses on providing financial support and professional coaching to women scientists who are also mothers, with the aim of facilitating their progression in their research careers. This agreement will also involve other initiatives, such as the BIST Ignite programme –meant to promote multidisciplinary research and contribute to the consolidation of the scientific cooperation community— and both #100tíficas and iScientist, programmes oriented at secondary schools. Actions will also be promoted to train researchers in science education.

The City Council is also working within the framework of the government measure "Barcelona Science Plan: 2020-2023", a strategy for the deployment of municipal science and university policies, and on the "Barcelona, city of science" strategy, where challenges such as promoting dialogue and collaboration between research centres, universities and the Barcelona City Council are set.