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img Sci Tech Girls, 12 October 2007

The first appointment of the day for the youg girls was with Aude de Thuin and Philippe Augier, Mayor of Deauville. One of the engineering field’s most renowned members, Susan Scheer Aoki, vice president of Cisco USA, was also present as was Habiba Bouhamed Chaabouni, professor of genetics at the University of Tunis — the first woman in Tunisia to take an interest in medical genetics and to gain recognition in the process.

“In an ideal world, the Women’s Forum wouldn’t exist. Today is your day to open doors to lead you to scientific and technological studies. It is the duty of past generations to leave you their place, encourage you and stimulate you in your career choices”, said Aude de Thuin.

“You are the future women in science and the world needs you,” enthused Susan Sheer Aoki. For Habiba, women’s role in the development of science can only be a good thing as their world vision is both less aggressive and more cooperative. She added that a stellar career was compatible with a fulfilling personal life if one followed four golden principles—organisation, belief, trust and the ability to convince others.

Three of the girls were expected at Deauville’s Congress Centre to participate in the press conference for the Deauville Statement, a strong message to society which encourages the presence of young women in scientific careers. Monique Canto Sperber started : “Science created a new world and a new humanity — women should be present as well. It’s up to women to be audacious, to take Marie Curie’s example. She left such a mark on the history of science, while for decades women were kept out and didn’t have role models they could identify with. It is high time women conquered Science. It’s time we opened our eyes and took action’. Project partners Didier Lombard, Béatrice Dautresme, and others signed the Deauville Statement.

In the afternoon, some 11 roundtables featured around 20 women with exceptional careers in science and technology.
Those who came especially to meet the young women included: Reine Note, Principal Scientist Predictive Toxicology, L’Oréal, France ; Barbara Dalibard, Senior Executive Vice President Orange Business Services, France ; Amandine Aftalion, Mathematician at Laboratoire Jacques-Louis Lions; Catherine Feray, Lab Director at LAB'EAU, Lyonnaise des Eaux, Suez, France; Brigitte Bouquot, Vice-President, Marketing & Sales France, Thales; Albane Arseguel, Floating Support Engineering Manager, deep offshore, Exploration Production, Total; Prudence Mutowo, PHD student, University of Nottingham, Department of Food Science, UK and Laurence Danon, Board Member, Rothshild Corporate Finance, France.
One man, Laurent Blanchard, General Manager of Cisco France, moderated the session along with Noni Allwood of Cisco USA.

Some questions from the girls:

  • Can women have a career in the very male-oriented oil industry?
  • How can you have children and keep a family together when you travel a lot?
  • What kind of relationship do women have in a field where there are so few women?
  • Is there a big difference between men and women in the workplace?
  • What kind of careers are there at the CNRS?
  • Why don’t women allow themselves to enter the field of mathematics?
  • How can we progress professionally? What’s the best way to start?
  • What can you tell us about gender discrimination, and how can we avoid it?
  • How do men perceive women’s networks?
  • Did you face any cultural issues when working in Arab countries?
  • We didn’t get enough information in our last year of high school. Where can we get information to make the right choices?

A number of young women found answers to their questions: “The people I met today convinced me of one thing: this is the job I want to do later on!” "I know what I want to do later on and I can do it!” a young woman in prep school enthused. Another high-school student added, “Now I know what a female engineer or researcher means. Before today I wasn’t sure. I was afraid that those terms described someone who was cold and wrapped up in her own little world, but that’s just not the case!”

The Partners concluded the roundtable discussions: “Don’t let anyone decide for you and believe in what you want to do“, said a L’Oréal representative.

The Total representative spoke of the importance of apprenticeship—to teach and learn from others. For her, apprenticeship, studies and training are an integral part of the ”school of freedom”. 

Click here to download the Statement of Deauville

Click here to download the press release of this event
 
 


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