BeWise femmes et sciences en belgique - Vrouwen en Wetenscha

The Belgian Women in Science (BeWiSe) initiative was started more than 20 years ago by a German woman who came to Belgium to conduct research at a public research institute. She encountered gender inequalities in her work environment and was amazed that there was no such association to tackle this challenge in an organized way. She brought her insights from her home country and convinced a few fellow scientists to establish BeWiSe. Since then, all past and present Board members have been convinced that the association should continue until the attainment of its mission. BeWiSe is a non-profit organization that supports the position of women in science, both in the public and private sectors... read more The Belgian Women in Science (BeWiSe) initiative was started more than 20 years ago by a German woman who came to Belgium to conduct research at a public research institute. She encountered gender inequalities in her work environment and was amazed that there was no such association to tackle this challenge in an organized way. She brought her insights from her home country and convinced a few fellow scientists to establish BeWiSe. Since then, all past and present Board members have been convinced that the association should continue until the attainment of its mission. BeWiSe is a non-profit organization that supports the position of women in science, both in the public and private sectors, and aims to improve communication among women in the Belgian and European scientific community. We develop support that is relevant to the research community, students and citizen and adapt them to participants' feedbacks and changing contexts. Our target group is girls and women. As we believe that diversity is a source of excellence, and that we need allies from all genders to achieve our aims, we include boys and men in some activities, while ensuring that girls and women are always in a leading position. BeWiSe wants to achieve gender-equal participation at all levels of science and engineering in the public and private sectors. It is open to specifically women, butanybody who promotes equal participation of women in science is welcome to join BeWiSe. BeWiSe encourages: Equal opportunities for both women and men to reach the most senior level in sciences Appropriate actions to achieve equal participation of women in science at universities, research institutes and companies all over Belgium Laws and policies that encourage and sustain increased participation of underrepresented genders in science Programmes for change towards more democratic and participatory systems in science Measures that facilitate the reconciliation of men's and women's professional and family life Equal participation of women in decision-making bodies Citizen of any age, gender and background to be interested and engaged in science, value the scientific methods in generating knowledge and advancing society The organization is mainly driven by the Board, which consists of four positions: President, Vice-President, Treasurer, and Secretary. All members are working on a voluntary basis. The board is assisted by a pool of 3 to 6 regular volunteers: two responsible for the social media, and several former BeWiSe Board members. By choice, BeWiSe is operating only in Belgium: we tailor our reach to the Board and volunteers capacity, our focus is a communication strength, and we operate in a geographically distributed network of complementary initiatives. We operate in French, Dutch and English, the three major languages. In a spirit of diversity, we serve as a bridge between the formal Dutch-speaking and French-speaking education and research communities. The organization is strongly connected to European associations and initiatives, including through its active membership to the European Platform of Women Scientists, its participation to European calls and projects on science outreach, and its central Brussels location. Our immediate impact is focusedto the Belgian scientific community understood broadly: schools pupils and teachers, higher education students, professors and staff, private research centers, citizen and families who are temporarily or permanently living in Belgium. However, our indirect impact is broader: as BeWiSe members and target groups are from any nationality and origin, and are mobile throughout their careers, they carry and spread their own insights and BeWiSe's practices in many countries and organizations, including through informal networking practices outside of Europe, such as BeWiSe and the Society of Ethiopian Women in Science and Technology. Additionally, BeWiSe became not long ago a member of the eument-net network, where we reach out, learn, but also network with other organizations regarding mentoring and more specifically mentoring women.