Hi, my name is Maria, I am 39 years old, a scientist, and mother of two children. Like so many women, I have been penalized at work because of my recent motherhood.
I had to apply to a call published by the Carlos III Health Institute (Public Research Organization that finances, manages and executes biomedical research in Spain) to be able to promote in my career. We were assessed considering our professional merits for a specific period of time (scientific publications, conferences, patents, doctoral theses, and so on). However, in my assessment, it wasn’t taken into account that during that period I was on maternity leave twice. If I had worked less time (13 months less than most of the applicants), I consequently had less professional merits, so I was at clear disadvantage. And same as me, most Spanish women who take a maternity leave in biomedical science. We have less time to get the same merits!
We have to change this. Women scientists who work for public research in Spain are losing competitiveness just because they become mothers. We are supposed to work during the maternity leaves without being able to take care of the babies as it is our right (and that of the babies).
Please respect our right to be mothers and to care about our children. It is enough with forcing us to choose between being mothers or to achieve professional success.
My case is not an single one, there are other mothers that have gone through the same situation and other calls published by the same organism that do not contemplate any actions to alleviate this inequality, this explaining the glass ceiling and the gender gap of women in science. Due to this professional discrimination, many women are being forced to abandon their careers. Not only do they lose, as they stop exercising their profession after much sacrifice, but society is also loosing by letting professionals leave their careers.
Please stop fostering the gender gap in science. If we have proven to be valid in all the evaluations that we have overcome throughout our career, why do we have to lose competitiveness due to the fact of becoming mothers?
With this petition I want to combat the professional discrimination that we are suffering as women who work in science.
Are we telling our girls that they can become whatever their propose in life, and that they can be scientist at their will, while we can not guarantee that they won’t be discriminated afterwards?
Ask the Carlos III Health Institute to stop discrimination of scientific women.