Male and Female, definitely

By Maria Mota, Pessoa Award 2013

In March, the women’s month, we invited the winner of the Prémio Pessoa 2013 to collaborate with Projecto.Detalhe’s Newsletter .

At the end of an international conference in my seminar, a young scientist approached me, congratulated me for my lecture and thanked me for “showing that it’s possible to have it all”. I wondered what “all” was and she replied “being a woman and being successful”.

I was flattered, but I could not help asking myself how an aspiring young scientist still feels the pressure of being a woman, in the 21st century.

The truth is that statistics do not lie. If greater numbers of women than men are graduating or working on their PhD thesis, they do not exceed 10-15% – both in Europe and America.

Many will wonder why is this a problem. Many of us argue that empowering women is not just something you should do to be politically correct, but because it is necessary to build a better world.

And why? Men and women are undoubtedly different and therefore living their daily lives and growing differently, shaping the way we see the problems or find solutions diversely. It is this diversity that increases the horizon and enriches the thought process, and it’s undoubtedly the key to building a better world.

This thought process is also embedded in the heart of science, where we scientists seek answers for the most pertinent questions, with a critical impact on how society and people evolve.

Finally, society should not and cannot allow or incentivate the fact that the answers to the most critical problems of the world depend on a small group of individuals (although society does this often in a passive way). Women and men have to relearn how to live together – not as “equal” members, but as members with the same rights and with the same responsibilities not only in their individual decisions, but especially in those that affect the course of the world in which we live.