As part of these efforts, we host every year an event dedicated to diversity in science on occasion of the annual International Day of Women and Girls in Science on February 11th.
This week, RESOLV welcomed 55 guests for two days full of interesting presentation and fruitful discussions around two topics: “Inclusive language and the gender equality acceleration” and “Empathy in science”.
On day one, speakers from academia and industry shared their experiences and insights.
Raffaella Ocone, professor at Heriot-Watt University (UK) and president of IChemE provided information about career scaling in academia. Honored as a “Caroline Herschel Visiting Professor” and a Cavaliere of the Order of the Star of Italian Solidarity, Raffaella was 2019 named among the top 100 most influential women in engineering.
Dr. Imogen R. Coe, professor of chemistry and biology at Toronto Metropolitan University, affiliate scientist at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto (Canada) and renowned scholar-activist dedicated to advancing inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility in science talked about how a culture of empathy and care can strengthen science.
With a PhD in laser physics and nonlinear optics from the Imperial College London and as Group Leader for Marketing at Menlo Systems (Germany), Dr. Gabrielle has a background in both academia and industry. She actively advances DEI initiatives in industrial research settings.
Drawing on experience across multiple scientific organizations and industry, Dr. Lewis Hill from Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light (Germany) combines photonics research with leadership and advocacy for empathy as a professional skill in science.
Specializing in mental health diagnostics and therapy, Dr. Ruth von Brachel from the Research and Treatment Center for Mental Health (Germany) focuses on resilience, wellbeing, and professional training in challenging environments. Ruth talked about mental health in challenging times.
A round table with PhD students, postdocs and industry representatives and a family dinner concluded Day 1.
The second day focused on a critical topic: “Unconscious bias in academia”. With Dr. Iris Wangermann, the participants could explore why biases emerge, recognize common pitfalls, learn how invisible barriers affect structures and processes, and develop concrete strategies for fairer, more transparent decisions.
Thank you to all guests and the speakers for the interesting and valuable insights and the inspiring discussions. We look forward to 2027!