This year's FAME Athena Award winner is Prof. Pilar García-Gómez, Professor of Applied Economics. With the Athena Award, FAME (Females in Academia Moving towards Equity) celebrates staff members and students who stimulate female talent within the academic environment and who are a true example for others.
The FAME Athena Award was presented to Prof. Pilar García-Gómez during the Dies Natalis by Chief Diversity Officer Prof. Jane Murray Cramm: 'You are a true role model for young female economists. You embody equal opportunities, emphasising that the lack of diversity and gender equality hinders progress. And you call on everyone to take action.'
We interviewed Pilar about her work, about winning the award and about challenges women face at our university.
What does winning this award mean to you?
'It was such a big surprise; I am truly honoured. It gave me a lot of energy. To be honest, part of me is a bit intimidated, the imposter syndrome kicks in: why me? Why not others who are working hard for equality for women at Erasmus University Rotterdam?
But I think I might be nominated, and awarded, for being a role model for young Erasmus School of Economics colleagues. There are not a lot of female professors at our school. Being a vice dean of research now, as a woman, and as an international, gives me more power, and more responsibility. I will make sure I am using my voice and my seat at the table to create positive change.
There are a lot of women at Erasmus School of Economics striving for equality. I would have loved to be nominated and awarded together with Teresa Bago d'Uva, our Faculty Diversity Officer. We are working together on equality topics, and I think she deserves this award. She is a colleague and a good friend and together we are presenting a lot of input and accelerators for change at our school.'
In your work at Erasmus University Rotterdam, what are you most proud of?
'Well, I love my work, and I love doing research. I think I am most proud of being a team player and being the one who contributes to a good atmosphere at our school and working toward ensuring that everyone feels safe. I’m really keen on building bridges and I want people to know they belong. Furthermore, I keep an extra eye on our PhD candidates.
For example, during Covid our PhD candidates were not doing well. They reached out to me, to see what we could do about it. Together with the PhDs, we created focus groups where they could share their thoughts and feelings in private. No professors were present. As a result of these focus groups, we created a PhD board, and a special PhD day where every PhD presented their research. This was a good example of community building, something I find really important.'
What do you see as a challenge for women at our university?
'Can I name a few? I think the lack of role models is a big challenge. Yes, at the moment 25% of professors is female, but that is not enough. It is more difficult for women to find a female role model that fits them. We have to keep working on this. I hope people will not sit back and relax now we’ve reached that 25%.
Another challenge is that women are more affected by certain events. For example, the consequences of Covid hit women harder than men. And it seems like we forgot about this now. But this could have long-lasting effects. Another example is the discussion about internationalization. If we look at the share of internationals among men and women at our university, it’s much higher among women, so we are getting another kind of shock. This gives psychological stress and unrest. I think this is probably affecting females more than males. Our criteria for promotion are designed in terms of fairness in outcomes without considering that there is an unequal playing field. Fortunately, there are positive steps being made. There is more awareness, about all kinds of topics. But to be honest, I think we could be taking much bigger steps.'
Is there something you would like to say to inspire other women at Erasmus University Rotterdam?
'Be yourself. Find allies. And speak up. Because there are many challenges, but I truly believe that we can make positive changes together.'
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