This Friday, February 11th, more than 450 researchers from all fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEAM), will take their research to schools and institutes throughout Catalonia to provide female scientific role models and inspire students at primary and secondary education, especially girls, to decide on scientific careers, thus helping to break down the gender stereotypes still present in this sector.

Science and gender equality are fundamental to the sustainable development of the profession. However, women continue to face obstacles in the field of science: less than 30% of scientific researchers in the world are women. According to data from the Spanish "February 11th" Initiative, only 7% of girls see themselves as scientists in the future, strengthening the idea that the low visibility of women in scientific-technical areas raises little interest among young women.

Direct contact with the researchers, who will offer talks focused on their professional and personal careers, is the ideal way to generate a long-lasting experience in students, capable of fostering passion for STEAM careers among young women. Beyond the dissemination activity, the physical presence of women scientists in schools is a powerful tool to make women who innovate in research more visible, to offer girls mirrors where they can see themselves reflected and to learn to recognize talented women in science.

At the Josep Carreras Leukaemia Research Institute, we are proud to see our researchers participate in the 100tífiques Project, promoting a future where science belongs to everyone. Berta Vázquez, from the Chromatin Biology Laboratory, will visit the Pedraforca Institute in L’Hospitalet de Llobregat. Verónica Rodilla and Cristina Guardia, from the Cancer Heterogeneity and Hierarchies Laboratory, will go to the Lola Anglada School in Badalona and the Terra Roja Institute in Viladecans. Eve Dias, from the Chromatin, Metabolism and Cell Fate Laboratory, will explain her professional career to the students of the Institut Martí l'Humà in Montblanc. And, finally, Laura Martínez Verbo, from the Cancer Epigenetics Laboratory, will go to Sant Joan de les Abadesses to meet the students of the IES Mestre Andreu.

Let's break the gender gap in schools in STEAM subjects!