Worldwide, only one third of all researchers are women. To change this, the "International Day of Women and Girls in Science" was launched by Unesco in 2015 and takes place every year on February 11. It is intended as a reminder to better enable and promote access to education and technology for girls and women.
Leibniz University Hannover has 28,018 students, of which 42% are female. 27% of doctorates are completed by women and at the professorship level there are 26.5% female professors. The numbers speak for themselves: there is still potential to attract women to science.
There are many female role models - for example Marie Curie, who discovered radioactivity together with her husband, or Hedy Lamarr, who developed a technique that is the basis for our mobile phone technology today.
But there are also interesting female scientists at Leibniz University Hannover who are passionate about research and use their findings to advance science - regardless of gender. They want to encourage other women and girls to find their way into research and strengthen them to follow this path consistently:
- Prof. Dr. Julia Gillen: „Women! Science! International! With these three characteristics, 11.02.2023 is a special day. We are constantly working to further increase the number of (young) women researchers and provide them with good learning and working conditions at LUH."
- Prof. Dr. Cornelia Lee-Thedieck: “It is not due to lack of competence, lack of interest or lack of assertiveness, that women are underrepresented in science. Structural and societal barriers must be removed to make the path to science more attractive for girls and women.”
- Prof. Dr. Annika Herr: “Together you can achieve more! A strong network and people whose advice is important to you will help you discover your path and pursue your goals. Stay authentic so that you can be joyful and motivated to give your full effort. Together, we'll move science forward. Be part of it!”
- Prof. Dr. Birgit Glasmacher: “This day is intended to draw attention to the fact that we as female engineers use the chance to make a difference and to realize our potential. In biomedical engineering, we can make our contribution to finding technical solutions for medical problems, for underlying human destinies.”
- Apl. Prof. Dr. Tanja Mölders: “We need to empower [women planners] and create awareness that gender differences matter. We should train them well, including by addressing the content: to what extent does gender matter for planning?"
