María del Carmen Simón, director of Postgraduate and Specialisation of the Superior Council of Scientific Investigations gave the lecture ‘Margarita Salas: a life dedicated to Science’ as a starting point and source of inspiration for more than five hundred Secondary and High School students of the Region of Murcia who crowded the Temple of Los Jerónimos Monastery to attend the 3rd Commemorative Conference on Women and Girls in Science, organised by Lyceum de Ciencia. UCAM Universidad Católica San Antonio de Murcia hosted the event that tries to raise awareness on the role of women scientists to motivate the youngest girls. The three universities of the region (University of Murcia, Polytechnic University of Cartagena and UCAM) and the three major research centres (CEBAS – CSIC, IMIDA and IMIB) participated in this conference.

Trinidad Herrero, president of Lyceum de Ciencia, focused on one of the main challenges they tackle from their association: “We want to encourage women not to give up on their scientific careers, since they tend to abandon them or leave them behind when they have their first child. We must help women who want to dedicate themselves to science, because science has to be done for the good of humanity and it cannot be done with only half of humanity, women must participate on an equal footing”.

In addition to Trinidad Herrero, Isabel Franco, vice-president of the Regional Government, Estrella Núñez, vice-chancellor for Research at UCAM, María Isabel Fortea, director general of Scientific Research and Innovation, and Carlos Albaladejo, director general of Educational Innovation and Attention to Diversity, also participated in the inauguration of the conference. The role of women scientists in the Region and the need to legislate with reconciliation and educational policies so that they can compete on equal terms with men were highlighted in all the presentations.

Santander awards for young women scientists

The first Santander awards for ‘Young women scientists of the Region of Murcia’ in five categories were given during the conference. The winners were: Elena Pajares (Basic and Experimental Sciences), María Martínez (Health Sciences), Noelia Sánchez (Humanities), Ana Mol (Social Sciences) and Ana Fernández (Engineering and Technology). These awards were born as another way of nurturing vocations, motivating young women and making visible the great work of the women scientists of the Region of Murcia.