On the International Day of Women and Girls in Science (11 February) and in the run-up to International Womenâs Day (8 March), the Vrije Universiteit Brussel is launching the campaign âWomen Shaping Scienceâ. In the science magazine VUB Tomorrow, scientists are portrayed and interviewed about their impact on research, policy and society.
âThe impact of our female scientists on society is impressive,â says VUB rector Jan Danckaert. âThey turn scientific knowledge into real change: they develop technologies that reshape our way of living, experiment with new treatments and provide scientifically grounded answers to complex social questions.â
A selection of the articles in the science magazine VUB Tomorrow
Els Witte Foto: CAVA / Hilde Braet
How it started
The appreciation of female scientists has been slow to develop. Also at the VUB. Over the past decades, the presence of female researchers grew, but long remained â compared to the students and support staff â strikingly behind
Read: How it started: that one woman
Excellent research
What happens in the very first days of a human life? And why does development sometimes go wrong even before a pregnancy has properly begun? At the VUB, stem cell researcher Claudia Spits seeks answers to those questions. With fundamental research at the earliest stages of human development, she tries to understand where subtle genetic differences play a role.
Claudia Spits
Caroline Pauwels
As inclusive as possible
Caroline Pauwels was our rector, but shouldnât we have called her our rectrix? And why does a group of alumnae suddenly become alumni when one alumnus joins? Gender-neutral job titles alone will not make the university â and the world â a more equal place, warns professor Rik Vosters. âInclusive language has an effect, but itâs limited. Structural gender inequality wonât be solved with it, but language can be a good prompt for reflection and awareness.â
Read: The lipstick of the rector