The Ministry of Social Inclusion, Youth, Families, and Equality, through Andalusian women, presents the exhibition «Women Who Have Changed the World» at the Provincial Women’s Center in Granada.
This initiative appreciates the impact of women scientists and promotes the participation of women and girls in science. The exhibition showcases women scientists from all times, both worldwide, nationally, and in the province of Granada, as detailed by the council in a statement. The exhibition will be open to the public until February 21, from 9:00 to 14:00, at the headquarters of the Women’s Center on Calle San Matías, 17, in the capital Granada.
The territorial delegate for social inclusion, youth, families, and equality in Granada, Matilde Ortiz, the provincial coordinator of IAM, Teresa Ilscas, and the manager of the Fundación PTS Granada, Luis González, visited the exhibition and agreed that through this initiative, the achievements of great female figures in history and technology are highlighted, showcasing the activity of women and scientific technologies currently being developed in Granada, contributing to the progress of knowledge and innovation in the region.
The exhibition highlights significant figures in the world of science, such as physicist and discoverer of Polonium and Radium Marie Curie, who developed a treatment for Leprosy Alice Ball, and Biochemist Margarita Salas, whose discovery of the DNA polymerase of bacteriophage Ph29 allows for the amplification of DNA in a simple, quick, and reliable way; as well as Nobel Prize winner in Physiology and Medicine Gerty Cori, among others.
Among the women scientists in Granada are biomedical researcher Antonia Aránega, director of genomic medicine María Eugenia Alarcón, expert in molecular biology Ana Camacho, and scientific director of biotech lens María Sastán, among others.
Ilscas emphasized that with this initiative from the Ministry of Equality, «We want to inspire girls and young women by showing them female references both worldwide and locally.» «We encourage all those interested to visit the exhibition and discover the talent and effort of these women,» she insisted. Meanwhile, Matilde Ortiz emphasized that «science and technology are full of women who have changed the world and continue to do so from our own province.»
Breaking the Gender Gap
Since 2015, on February 11th, the International Day of Women and Girls in Science is commemorated, established by the United Nations General Assembly to recognize the fundamental role of women in the scientific and technological field. Despite the progress made in recent years, women continue to be a minority in scientific disciplines.
Therefore, according to UNESCO, only 35% of scientific and technological careers are held by women. This gender gap is particularly noticeable in cutting-edge areas such as artificial intelligence, where only one in five professionals (22%) is a woman.
This inequality also extends to scientific recognition: only 4% of Nobel Prizes in scientific disciplines have been awarded to women, compared to the 96% awarded to men.