The Gender Commission of the Iberian Association of Limnology, where the researchers Anna Lupon and Susana Bernal from the CEAB-CSIC participate, has developed teaching resources to make female scientists visible and reduce gender bias in the area of Earth sciences, specifically in the field of limnology (the discipline that studies lakes, rivers, reservoirs and other freshwater systems). Resources include an exhibition that is available to any research centre, university or museum, as well as brief biographies of leading researchers in the field. They also have a guide to incorporate gender inclusion in educational activities.
“We study the barriers that we face as researchers in our scientific careers, and we carry out activities that promote gender equality in limnology,” explains Núria Catalán, a researcher at IDAEA-CSIC and member of the Commission.
The resources they have created include, on the one hand, a guide to include gender in educational activities, a questionnaire to assess whether educational practices have gender equality, as well as bibliography to incorporate women scientists in geoscience university courses .
“One of the clearest examples is that in the ecology books that are used in universities, scientists are barely mentioned, although there have been many and they have made great contributions,” says María del Mar Sánchez Montoya, researcher from the Complutense University of Madrid and member of the Commission.
The exhibition “Women in Limnology” shows the history, current situation and future opportunities for women scientists in this field. The exhibition is available in English and Spanish, and can be requested free of charge on request on the project’s website. Thanks to all this activity, in 2021 the Commission was awarded the prize for “Contribution to Diversity and Inclusion in the Academy” from the Spanish Association of Terrestrial Ecology.
All the teaching resources can be downloaded by following this link.
Via: IDAEA-CSIC Comunicació
