On 6 March, EuChemS attended the debate “Towards Gender Equality in Science: Are We on the Right Track?” organized by the Spanish Scientists in Belgium (CEBE). The event took place in Brussels, Belgium. The speakers were Nellie Konijnendijk, Human Ressources advisor equality at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Professor Flora de Pablo, researcher at the Center for Biological Investigation for the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), Daniel Pérez, researcher at the quantum technology lab of Chalmers University and Tania Van Loon, President of Belgian Women in Science (BeWiSe).

This roundtable was organized in support of the International Day of Women and Girls in Science. The 4 scientists started the meeting by presenting data and graphs depicting the current gender gap situation in their respective institutions and countries. Although their research was done individually, all came to the same conclusion: the higher the level of research is in STEM, the less women are represented. Following this presentation, they discussed the challenges to greater equality and critically analyzed the current measures on this matter. Encouraging young girls to pursue studies and careers in STEM, gender quotas and how to better include men were the main discussions topics.