The Women and Science conference was held in Lecce from 14 to 16 November, this year dedicated to the theme "Environment and climate, the present for the future" and organized in collaboration with the University of Salento, various institutes of the National Research Council and the University of Bari "Aldo Moro". To find out what it is about and what topics have been addressed, we interviewed Giuliana Rubbia, a physicist at INGV, one of the organizers of the conference, and vice president of the association, who has been passionately dedicated to gender issues for years, equal opportunity, and inclusion.
Juliana, what is it Women and Science and which is your role within the association?
Women and Science is a cultural association born sixteen years ago, with the main aim of promoting the entry and career of women in scientific research and to modify its institutions on the basis of a critical analysis of contemporary science. The association constitutes a network for the exchange of information, projects and initiatives also on an international scale and organizes conferences, debates and events aimed at deepening and spreading knowledge of the aspects inherent to the female experience in the practice of scientific research. My membership dates back to about ten years ago when, surfing the web, I found this organization of gender experts, whose aims I shared. Over time my commitment to the mission and to the life of Women and Science has increased: today I am a member of the Board of Directors and I am the association's vice president.
Women and Science this year dedicated its conference, which was held in Lecce from 14 to 16 November, to environmental issues. Leitmotif of the interventions "Environment and climate, the present for the future". Why this choice?
Every year the association organizes a conference with a different theme. This time we have chosen the environment because it is a current and extremely important topic. Climate change and its consequences, the impact of industrial production on the environment and people, for example, are there for all to see and the approach to related problems, to be effective, must necessarily be interdisciplinary. A conference of this type, transversal to the single institution, brings into play different professional figures who meet in an open field of exchange, making possible moments of comparison to address environmental issues from different perspectives and grasp the different implications.
What were the topics discussed during the conference? What emerged?
During the work various topics were addressed, organized in four sessions: "Environment and knowledge: understanding the crisis to face it", plenary; “Environment and climate change: men and women in action”; “Environment and health: integrating the gender dimension”; Environment and society - Managing and communicating complexity”. In the plenary session, experts proposed the reading of climate change from different angles, including from a philosophical, economic and legal point of view. The sessions were then articulated with invited papers and contributions resulting from the call for abstracts on the topics of climate change, biodiversity, sustainable development, energy transition, environment and health, gender dimension in environmental research, toxicology and epidemiology, communication with and from society, science and society, citizen science.
In particular, in my speech I talked about the gender dimension in responsible research (Responsible Research and Innovation - RRI), inspired by the H2020 GRECO project (), a responsible innovation project in solar photovoltaics, coordinated by the Polytechnic University of Madrid. The association participates through me, who have the role of member of Social Advisory Board - SAB project for gender aspects. Being part of the SAB, as an independent external expert, implies a series of activities, among which: taking responsibility for providing feedback to the consortium on specific work streams, suggesting corrective measures if necessary, disseminating the actions and results achieved by the project through networks, in this case Women and Science and the European platform to which the association belongs (European Platform of Women Scientists EPWS), and finally participate in the meetings established both online and in person. This project already starts with a good number of women who are work package leaders, an engineer is co-coordinator of the project, the communication used is inclusive and promotes the image of women active in the energy sector, a sector that is still predominantly male. Other gender dimensions can be identified, for example regarding the impact of new technologies and products on end users, but for now I'll stop here. In fact, the relationship between gender and energy stands out as an area for further study.
Talking about gender, environment and society, what are the aspects that you care most about?
There are two, in particular, and I have already partially anticipated them. The first is related to language which must be as inclusive, non-discriminatory and attentive to gender differences in scientific and institutional communication, and therefore also in administrative documents, public events and everyday life. Communication is a powerful tool capable of directing our attitudes, perceptions and behaviors. It is correct to speak of "researchers" and not just "the researcher", for example. Even the Ministry of Education, University and Research reiterates the need to correctly use the grammatical gender in the recently published Guidelines and avoid "the use of the masculine when the word in question refers to a woman or indicates people of both the sexes". The European Institute of Gender Equality has published a toolkit with text and image examples last month. Gender-respectful language, free from bias, is a way to counter stereotypes in society. Society is at least the recipient if not a participant in the research itself, and is made up of citizens with characteristics and aspirations that may coincide or be different: these differences must be taken into account in order to describe reality and establish a dialogue in appropriate ways.
...And the second?
This is the gender dimension in research and innovation, also underlined by the European funding programme Horizon 2020. The projects, in particular for the Science and Society theme, must respond to the requirements of gender balance in the decision-making process and in research groups, and integrate the gender dimension in the research and innovation content by taking into consideration the biological characteristics as relevant ( sex) and the socio-cultural dimensions (gender) that characterize women and men differently.
Gender is an analytic and explanatory variable key in research. Taking it into account means carrying out research of high quality and social relevance. We hope that in the next programs, like Horizon europe, gender mainstreaming is made mandatory and part of the evaluation of the excellence of fundable proposals, there are already suggestions in this direction.
There is a strong link between education and education in mindset change. What do you think could be the role of women in terms of a change of mentality towards the environment?
Women can be agents of change everywhere, in their roles as researchers, politicians, educators and there are sectors with a greater presence of women, such as communication and education for example. In my opinion, especially in these contexts, women must be aware that they play an important social, professional and family role: that they have the opportunity to guide behaviour, even starting with the youngest.
Speaking of young people and the environment, the mass media often talk about Greta Thunberg, the Swedish activist for sustainable development and against climate change known for her demonstrations held in front of the Riksdag in Stockholm, Sweden. The girl was also the subject of insufferable misogynistic comments. What do you think of this young rise to prominence on the international media scene?
I like Greta, she has had a very strong media and social impact by raising environmental issues which in this way have reached a very wide audience, from parliamentarians to children, all over the world. She is a very strong iconic figure. As regards the attacks that have been directed at her, there are studies for example of the Chalmers University of Technology Swedish linking climate denial and misogyny.
But apart from this single case, even if it is very important, I think we have to look at the work and commitment of many and many in daily life. As far as the climate is concerned, the future is already there.