Abstract

In 2018, our research institution made a thorough analysis of the gender balance among its research staff. The finding was alarming: whereas there was a similar number of men and women in the early stages of their research career, there was a significant imbalance at a senior level: nine out of 10 research group leaders were men and only one woman. This effect is well known in the research career as the "Scissors Effect" - The gender gap increases as the research career progresses. With this gender imbalance we strongly believe and action was needed. For this reason, in 2018 we launched the Emakiker scholarship, an exclusive scholarship for senior women scientists in polymers. A call for applications addressed exclusively to experienced women scientists, with the aim of promoting female leadership among women scientists.
Emakiker fellowship offers the opportunity to women scientists with expertise in polymers, to lead their research project by leading their own team. The research center covers her salary for up to five years and offers financial support for her team. During this process, they will be supported by a network of mentors.
This fellowship is launched annually since 2018. It will allow POLYMAT to eventually have both male and female group leaders in its staff, making it a more balanced organization in its leadership positions.
An initiative that can certainly be perfectly applicable to other companies working in the field of science. Any company can apply this measure. A part of their budget can be set aside to launch calls for applications exclusively for women so that they can access for leadership positions. The main objective is to offer the opportunity to put female leadership into practice in companies.
In parallel to this fellowship and to commemorate the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, in 2017 a group of Research Institutions located in the Basque Country launched the initiative ‘Emakumeak Zientzian’ (Women in Science). The main goals of this initiative was to make the activity of women in science visible, to break down the typically masculine roles attributed to scientific and technical activities, and to encourage girls and teenagers to opt for careers in science. In February 2022, 17 research and technological centers based in the Basque Country brought together a wide-ranging programme with a broad variety of activities designed to all the society (kids, teenagers, families, scientific community, women over 55….) to spread the message "science is girls’ stuff" to as many people as possible and to emphasize the importance of achieving equal access and professional development in the scientific and technological field. POLYMAT has coordinated the initiative in 2022, which was recognized by the Basque Government with the first STEAM Euskadi Award and the Special Mention Award for Gender Perspective in the category of Most Innovative Initiative in STEAM Education promoted by other organizations.