~ Women in science: why there is an international day ~

Currently, women continue to find barriers of many kinds, sometimes very subtle, that hinder their presence in science. Since 2015, the International Day of Women and Girls in Science is celebrated every February 11, a date on which access and full and equal participation of women and girls in this sector are claimed.

Still, women continue to encounter obstacles in the field of science: whether scientist, mathematician or engineer, women in science make up less than 30% of the world's researchers .

Today, to help change this statistic and promote the sector, we share with you some of the women scientists who inspire us to change the world.

1. MONTSERRAT CALLEJA

A physicist by training, she is currently a scientific researcher at the Higher Council for Scientific Research (CSIC) at the Institute of Microelectronics in Madrid. She has developed her career in the field of nanotechnology and is co-founder of the company Mecwins, a pioneer in the commercialization of nanomechanical biosensors.

Currently, he is focusing his work on a project that aims to study the mechanical properties of cells and their relationship with cancer . This will allow diagnosing this disease in earlier stages.

2. ELENA GARCIA ARMED

Born in Valladolid, Elena is an industrial engineer and PhD in Robotics from the Polytechnic University of Madrid (UMP). He began his scientific career designing industrial-oriented robots, but in 2009 he took a turn in his career when he met a quadriplegic girl, which motivated him to manufacture devices dedicated to improving the mobility of children suffering from degenerative neuromuscular diseases.

She is currently a senior scientist at the Center for Automation and Robotics (CAR), where she leads the research group that created the world's first bionic exoskeleton for pediatric use for patients with spinal muscular atrophy , called ATLAS 2020.

3. SEGENET KELEMU

Kelemu was born in Ethiopia, in a small village where women must take care of agricultural work. At the age of 15, after witnessing the devastation caused by a plague of locusts, she decided to dedicate herself to studying the problem and soon became the first woman from the region to be admitted to the University of Addis Ababa.

“In my village, girls get married very young, but luckily I was too rebellious. I was going to go to college no matter what."

Kelemu returned to Africa to lead a new generation of scientists. She was awarded the L'Oréal-UNESCO “Women and Science” Prize in 2014 and was named one of the 100 most influential African women by Forbes Africa magazine in 2015 .

These are the women who inspire us to change the world, how about you? Leave us a comment on Instagram sharing yours!