8M: For an ecologist with more feminine perspectives

In a new celebration of International Women’s Day, Circular country I spoke with three science-related women, from their respective disciplines, who contribute every day to a better understanding of the impact on the environment and how damage to it can be stopped or reversed.

As in many other fields, there is a significant gender gap in science, which makes it all the more necessary to highlight the work that women contribute from their fields to generate more knowledge. Low representation perpetuates the idea that science is reserved for men, and not only prevents more women from entering different disciplines, but also prevents them from continuing to advance their careers.

Claudia Maturana: “Science is greatly enriched from a female perspective”

Claudia Maturana Bobadilla, Ph.D. in ecology and evolutionary biology from the University of Chile and researcher at the BASE Millennium Institute, developed her research on the evolutionary aspects of the different species that can be found in continental waters at high latitudes. He is currently working on a project examining how climate change, with higher temperatures and lower precipitation, will affect biodiversity in Antarctica and the Magallanes region.

Regarding the importance of women in science, the doctor of biology stresses that they are subject first and foremost to the issue of social justice, as women have been marginalized from knowledge for centuries. In addition, women make a very important contribution to how we understand nature, how we interact with it, and how we observe it. This aspect of scientific work is greatly enriched from the female perspective. Third, the way we women work is very important, because of how we relate to each other, how we make our way through teamwork, ”explains the scientist.

On the challenges that science faces in relation to the gender gap, she noted that the environment is still complex and there are many issues that need to be resolved: “The workplace and sexual harassment that women experience in science is difficult, it is a resolved issue. It has been going on for many years and now Only, in recent years, we’ve been talking about it. I think this is very important for the generation I belong to, and that we have a responsibility to open the paths and not allow this to happen again for future generations.”

In addition, it highlights the existence of good initiatives to combat diagnoses that have been observed for many years both in Chile and in the world, in which women do not continue to improve and develop their careers due to lack of opportunities. One highlighted by Dr. Maturana was the latest National Ph.D. call from the Ministry of Science and ANID, which this year had, for the first time, gender parity.