Motivated by facts, by their desire to show that they too should have a secure place, or the immense love for their work, these women and their stories to break through into the world of science are all you need to be part of this move.
What motivates a woman to become a scientist?
A bold woman who combines chemistry and nature
When I discuss the issue of gender, of girls and women who excel in science, I realize that the first instance of support comes from the family, or from the environment where you live, it doesn't matter where. If we are in an environment that recognizes that we should be encouraged, that we can study and go forward, it helps. I got my first research project, with Fapesp, to work on Rubiaceae do Brasil. At that time, I used to hear many people say, with contempt: “a woman from the northeast....” But since I’ve always been very bold, every time they said that to me, I would respond in kind. That's what gave me the strength to go on, to keep learning and growing. What marked my career, a big leap, was the creation of the Biota Fapesp program for research in characterization, conservation, restoration and sustainable use of biodiversity in the state of São Paulo. In a big meeting at Unicamp, Sonia Dietrich, a great scientist in the area of taxonomy, introduced me to the group and said that I had the potential to carry out projects in Chemistry of Natural Products. After that, I took part in three major projects with lots of funding. We set up a state-of-the-art lab for natural products. Are you a bold woman? Are you part of Women on the Move?
Safety by them and for them
*Content warning: The paragraph below contains discussion of sexual assault.
After hearing the story of a student who was raped while getting off the bus, Simony César, who at the time was studying Design at UFPE, came up with the idea that the cell phone could be the electronic equivalent of the Swiss Army knife. With this realization, Simony saw that technology had great potential to ensure women's safety.
After many challenges, she created Nina, a technology that tracks, standardizes and centralizes cases and claims of harassment, integrated with public transportation apps that, for example, can display bus routes. It functions as a whistleblower button that generates information about stories of abuse occurring in the city. The creation of the tool made Simony a standout in the Technology and Innovation area in 2019, and she made it onto the Forbes Under 30 Brazil list. Would you feel safer if this technology was available in your country?
Neutrinos, a passion that drives this woman
Finding beauty in mathematical formulas and an immense love for science are some of the elements that stand out and that make Mayly Sanchez, a Venezuelan physicist, fall in love with the world every day. Her motto is to cooperate and not always have to compete, because thanks to this she has managed to generate synergies with her academic peers in favor of new research, such as the study of neutrinos with her team in the United States, within the framework of a project that is trying to obtain the most intense beam of these subatomic particles in the world. Mayly admits to being attracted to any scientific or mathematical problem that comes her way; it is something that excites her and an opportunity to continue finding more solutions. This remarkable work has brought great rewards, such as the 2012 PECASE Award granted by the White House since 1996 and the National Hispanic Engineer Achievement Award given by the National Engineering Achievement Award Corporation to scientists in the U.S. Are you also a science lover? Are you part of Women on the Move?