Alícia Romero Llano, Minister of Economy and Finance of the Generalitat de Catalunya, has been recognized as one of the hundred most influential women in the country according to Forbes magazine. This recognition comes at a time when the Generalitat is promoting a strategic plan for gender equality in science throughout Catalan territory.
Boost to equality in educational centers in 229 municipalities
During this year, approximately 600 female researchers will participate in talks with 40,000 students in sixth grade of primary school and first grade of secondary school. This initiative will be deployed in 530 educational centers spread across 229 municipalities in Catalonia. The objective is to bring female role models into classrooms and foster scientific vocations among the youngest.
"It is vital that we make visible women scientists, women economists... in general, women who have reached positions of responsibility." - Alícia Romero Llano, Minister of Economy and Finance
Romero Llano has insisted on the importance of girls having role models. According to the councilor, the majority of references are still male, which causes many girls not to feel identified with these disciplines.
Female role models and work in the family environment
The councilor has stressed that normally girls tend to excel in mathematics, but it is essential to prevent them from feeling excluded from this discipline from a young age. In this regard, she has recalled the responsibility of families in the educational process.
"I am the mother of two girls and I can say that, in this aspect, we families have a lot of work to do at home." - Alícia Romero Llano, Minister of Economy and Finance
The promotion of female role models in science coincides with the recent death of Josefina Castellví i Piulachs, an oceanographer from Barcelona and one of the first scientists to travel to Antarctica. Her figure has been remembered these days in the academic and scientific sphere of Catalonia.