Academic tradition of women in science at the UAIC

The first woman student at the University of Iasi has been registered at the Faculty of Letters in 1879, 19 years after the University’s setting up (1860). Her name was Ana Botta (1856-1892) and she was also the first woman student from the history of the Romanian universities. The same year, 1879, another woman, Sofia Nadejde registered as a student at the Faculty of Sciences from the University of Iasi, but she has been admitted the next year, in 1880.

The last two decades of the 19th century the number of women students increased significantly so that in a photo from 1896 (see below) presenting a group of students in Biology with their faimous professor and assistant, the number of female students is – quite surprisingly - almost equal with the number of their male colleagues (one could say: a “gender balance” avant la lettre).

Among the women professors and scientists who worked at the University of Iasi across the times, some notoriuos names have their place in the Romanian history of sciences: Prof. Dr. Vera Myller (1880-1970), a mathematician who in 1918 became the first woman full professor in a Romanian University, Prof. Dr. Elena Densusianu-Puscariu (1875-1966), who was the first women full professor in a Romanian Faculty of Medicine, Prof. Dr. Magda Noela Petrovanu (1923-2008), a foundator of the Organic Chemistry School from the UAIC, and Prof. Dr. Olga Necrasov (1910-2000), a reputed anthropologist and biologist, who was a member of the Romanian Academy.

Recent developments of gender studies in Didactics and Research

The last ten years several educational and research programmes which explicitly address the issues related to gender equality ran at the UAIC.

Within the period 2001-2003 the interdisciplinary Master programme on feminist issues (Feminism and Gender Studies) has been organized at the Faculty of Philosophy and Social Sciences in cooperation with the Faculty of Letters. It was coordinated by Prof. Dr. Doina Balahur (Sociology) and Prof. Dr. Odette Blumenfeld (Letters).

Themes on gender equality issues are addressed now within the curricula of different master programmes from the Faculty of Philosophy and Social Science, Letters, Psychology and education sciences, Economics and Business Administration.

Courses on the European policies and Gender equality are also currently given at the Jean Monnet programmes of the European Studies Center and the Center for Social Management and Community Development (for example prof. Doina Balahur approaches gender equality issues within her Jean Monnet Chair « Human Rights and the European Social Policies »).

Courses on Gender equality and the advantages of diversity in science have also been introduced at some programmes of the 11 Doctoral PhD Schools from the UAIC.

More than 30 doctoral theses defended the last decade in our University approached themes of gender equality or closely connected aspects (for example : PhD thesis in Sociology and social work, Political sciences, Philosophy, Psychology and education sciences, Economics and Business Administration, Letters, Communication Sciences).

In photo: Publications about Women in science. (1) Cover of the book Women and Technological Education: A European Comparative Perspective. The 10 Commends to the Policy Makers, by Doina Balahur, Paivi Fadjukoff (eds.), University Al.I.Cuza Iasi Publishing House, 2010; (2) cover of the report The content of a new strategy to attract and encourage female students to careers in science and technology, by Doina Balahur, in FP6 Project: Understanding and Providing a Developmental Approach to Technology Education (UPDATE), 2009; (3) cover of the report Meta-analysis of gender and science research. Synthesis Report (Country report for Romania, by Doina Balahur) in FP7 Project Meta-analysis of gender and science research, 2009; (4) cover of the book Companies and Equal Opportunities between Women and Men, PHARE Project, 2006.

It is worthy to mention that in the last years several research teams from the UAIC have been involved in different European and national projects on gender equality in science and the equality of women and men in companies and labor market (for example, PF6 UPDATE, PF7 Meta-analysis of gender and science, POSDRU projects for doctoral and post-doctoral students, etc).

Currently, within the STAGES project it is under preparation the curricula of a new course, « Gendered Science and Feminist Methodologies in Scientific Research », to be introduced at some MA and PhD programmes.

New doctoral research themes on gender equality in science will be proposed for the Social Sciences and Interdisciplinary PhD schools from the UAIC.

Academic and research initiatives within the frame of the UAIC-STAGES project

Introduction of "Gender Equality in Science" as a theme for PhD studies at the UAIC

On 5 June 2013, for the first time in a Romanian University, the theme "Gender Equality in Science" has been proposed for the PhD studies in the competition call for the admission session September 2013 of the UAIC's Doctoral School, at the initiative of the UAIC-STAGES project coordinator in cooperation with the UAIC Doctoral School in Sociology. Prof. Dr. Doina Balahur, scientific supervisor for PhD in Sociology at the Faculty of Philosophy and Social Sciences, announced the topics and the bibliography on "Gender, Career and Performance in Scientific Research" and "Structural Transformations in Universities and Research Institutes for Achieving Gender Equality in Science". The research on these themes has been planned to be carried out in cooperation with the FP7 European project STAGES at the UAIC.

On 15 September 2013, after the selection of candidates, two students have been admitted to prepare PhD theses on topics related to Gender Equality in Science in the next 3 years, under the scientific coordination of Prof. Dr. Doina Balahur: George Ichim and Petronela Munteanu.

Next year, in 2014, the theme "Gender Equality in Science" is proposed for the PhD studies, the second year consecutively, in the competition call for the admission session September 2014 of the UAIC's Doctoral School. This is until now a singular initiative in a Romanian University. Prof. dr. Doina Balahur, scientific coordinator for PhD in Sociology at the Faculty of Philosophy and Social Sciences, announced the topics and the bibliography on "Gender, Career and Performance in Scientific Research" and "Structural Transformations in Universities and Research Institutes for Achieving Gender Equality in Science". As in the previous year, the research on these themes will be carried out in cooperation with the FP7 European project STAGES at the UAIC.

At the admission examination session held on the 16 September 2014 two candidates have been declared eligible for this programme on Gender Equality in Science. They are Stela Anca Radu (Romania) and Iris Zeitlin (Haifa, Israeli), who proposed two interesting themes for sociological research on gender in science. The first proposed research project aims at identifying, among other topics, the impact of media on science education and research career, while the second one focuses on the implications of gender and ethnicity in medical research and nursing practices, based on case studies investigated in hospitals from Haifa, Israeli. The two PhD research themes will be supervised by Prof. Dr. Doina Balahur, coordinator of the UAIC-STAGES project, who initiated the thematic programme on Gender Equality in Science to be included as PhD advanced research in Sociology.

The PhD programme on Gender Equality in Science set up within the frame of the UAIC-STAGES project in cooperation with the Doctoral School of Sociology, as a part of UAIC Doctoral School, has continued in 2015. A new candidate, Catrinel Zaharia, has successfully passed the admission examination and is now enrolled at the Doctoral School of Sociology, the programme on Gender Equality in Science. PhD student Catrinel Zaharia has a professional experience in the field of economics and business administration and she has also authored a book, "Everything for women. A short treaty on re-finding ourselves" (2015). Strongly motivated for research in gender equality in computer science and challenged by the direct experience in a male dominated domain she proposed a research theme that is focused on a top priority issue "Women and the career in IT: Access to top positions".

Course on “Gender and science: Interdisciplinary perspectives on sex and gender”

On the 13 December 2014, the UAIC-STAGES project, in cooperation with the Doctoral School of the Faculty of Philosophy and Social Political Sciences, organized the first course on “Gender and science: Interdisciplinary perspectives on sex and gender”. The 4 hours course (10:00-14:00) was given by Prof. Dr. Doina Balahur, who presented an introduction into the main scientific perspectives to approach the topics of sex/gender in science, namely the sociological, psychological, neurobiological, anthropological, and juridical frameworks and at the same time argued on the necessity to integrate these approaches in an interdisciplinary perspective able to highlight new findings concerning the relevance of gender dimension in science (as for example in the content, methods and applications of research). The documented examples from the social sciences research have been provided to sustain the argumentation. The course was attended by 19 PhD students in the fields of Sociology, Political Sciences and Communication Sciences and took place in Building R, room 306.

The 3rd French-Romanian Colloquium on Medicinal Chemistry has included a round table on "Gendered Science"

On the 30th -31st October 2014 the "Alexandru Ioan Cuza" University of Iasi and the School of High Studies on Engineering from Lille (France) have organized the 3rd edition of the French-Romanian Colloquium on Medicinal Chemistry (UAIC, Building A, Aula Mihai Eminescu). Held since 2010, at the initiative of Dr. Alina Ghinet, winner of the prize and scholarship "L'Oréal-Unesco for Women in Science", who donated the 10000 Euro award for the organization of the first edition, this French-Romanian scientific event brings together researchers in medicinal chemistry from academia, research institutions and industry from France and Romania. Within the frame of the 3rd edition, at the joined initiative of the main organizers of the Colloquium, Dr. Alina Ghinet and Prof. Dr. Elena Bicu, who are also members of the UAIC Network of Women in Science, and Prof. Dr. Doina Balahur, Director of the UAIC Centre for Gender Equality in Science and coordinator of the FP7 UAIC-STAGES project, on the 30 October, a Round table has been organized as an open, interdisciplinary dialog on "Gendered Science in Medicinal Chemistry". On this occasion Prof. Dr. Doina Balahur gave a presentation of the STAGES project at the UAIC and also introduced the theme of gendered innovation underlying the benefits of taking sex and gender into consideration in the content, methods and all the stages of the research. It was followed by debates and a Q&A session on how gendered innovation could be introduced in the research on Medicinal Chemistry. Interventions and observations on the potential benefits of gendered content in Medicinal Chemistry research have been made by Dr. Alina Ghinet, Dr. Solo Goldstein (France), Dr. Alin Dirtu, Dr. Mariana Pinteala and Dr. David Perry (France). Both young female and male researchers and PhD candidates have also raised questions. The Round table has been attended by more than 40 young and senior researchers from the "Alexandru Ioan Cuza University", Faculty of Chemistry, the Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry "Petru Poni", Iasi, the School of High Studies on Engineering from Lille (France), University of Havre (France), and University Paris South (France).

Women in Information Technology: "Following Anita Borg" Workshop

On the 16 January 2015, the Faculty of Computer Science, in partnership with the UAIC-STAGES project and the UAIC Centre for Gender Equality in Science, organized the workshop "Following Anita Borg", that aimed at bringing together Women in Information Technology of Iasi (WITchIS) to celebrate the memory of Anita Borg and her dedication to advancement of women in technological education and career. The workshop was opened by Prof. Dr. Henry Luchian, Vice-Rector of the UAIC, who congratulated the organizers for their initiative and reminded that at the origin of the IT domain there is a lady-scientist, Ada Lovelace, the daughter of the famous poet Lord Byron. The two organizers from the Faculty of Computer Science, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Lenuța Alboaie and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Corina Forăscu, are members of the UAIC Network of Women in Academia and Research and have been awarded in 2014 for their scientific and academic activities. The programme of the workshop included a presentation of the funding opportunities for women in Information Technology. Within this frame, Prof. Dr. Doina Balahur gave a talk on the UAIC-STAGES project by emphasising its contribution to raising awareness on the need to bring more women in STEAM domains. She also presented the model of 4 I's (I know, I can, I want, I do) developed to support female and male's self-efficacy and confidence in their capabilities to take a career in science and technology. The second part of the workshop, "Meet the ladies in IT", was dedicated to the launch of the initiative of setting up the Association of Women in IT from Iasi. The event brought together more than 70 participants from the UAIC academic and research staff, members of the Department of Sciences, Department of Interdisciplinary Research in Social Sciences and Humanities, representatives of the industrial and business environment, IT teachers and scholars from High Schools in Iasi.

Workshop on "Territorial resilience and gender inequalities in Romanian cities"

The Workshop entitled "Territorial resilience and gender inequalities in Romanian cities", jointly co-organized by the Faculty of Geography and Geology, the UAIC Centre for Gender Equality in Science and the UAIC Network of Women in Academia and Research, on the 5th June 2015, on the occasion of the World Environment Day, continued the series of thematic activities aiming to promote the approach of gender in content and methods of science within the frame of the UAIC-STAGES project. The workshop was co-moderated by Prof. Dr. Doina Balahur (UAIC-STAGES coordinator), Assoc. Prof. Dr. Gabriela Breabăn (Geography), Senior Lecturer Dr. Alexandru Bănică (Geography) and Senior Lecturer Dr. Marinela Istrate (Geography). Prof. Dr. Doina Balahur gave a presentation on "Gendered content of science and innovation" which emphasized the high relevance the gender approach is having in the research of resilience and environmental challenges, one of the big problems that world is facing today and a research priority in Horizon 2020 programme. The workshop (held at the UAIC, Building B, Room 656) has been attended by more than 30 participants, senior and young researchers from the Faculty of Geography and Geology and by the representatives of the UAIC Network of Women in Academia and Science. Among the participants there were: Professor Emeritus Alina Ungureanu (Geography), Assoc. Professor Dr. Ionel Muntele (Geography), Prof. Dr. Adriana Prodan (Economics), Assoc. Professor Dr. Luminița Bejenaru (Biology), Senior Lecturer Dr. Christiana Balan (Economics), Dr. Paiu Mădălina (Geography), Drd. Loredana Cătărău (Sociology). The discussions on the research topics and methods have emphasized the value of the interdisciplinary approach and the importance of the integration of gender dimension in the scientific approach of urban-resilience and environment.