The Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM), Martin Heydon has emphasised the importance of equal access for women and girls to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).
The comments from the minister with responsibility for research and development mark International Day of Women and Girls in Science, which is being held today (Saturday, February 11).
This theme of this year’s event is ‘Bringing everyone forward for sustainable and equitable development’.
“Securing women’s engagement in science, policy, and decision making is essential to securing a truly equal, well-functioning and democratic society both in Ireland and abroad,” Minister Heydon said.
“In 2022, my department awarded funding of approximately €20 million across 40 research projects. 38% of the projects are being led by a female researcher.
“There was a notably high success rate for the Irish-funded female partners on international projects part-funded by this department, with a woman acting as a lead partner on 10 of the 15 projects, accounting for over 70% of the funding.”
Minister Heydon encouraged all young women to consider a career in this area, particularly in the agri-food, forest, marine and bioeconomy sciences.
Science
One of the projects which was successful in securing DAFM funding last year is led by Dr. Dominika Krol, a senior research officer in Teagasc
Dr. Krol conducts research into measuring greenhouse gases (GHG) from various agricultural activities and investigating ways to reduce their impacts through technology and farming practices.
She recently secured funding of over €630,000 for an Ireland-New Zealand research project on refining emissions factors for inventory reporting.
‘‘My goal is to help improve the environmental sustainability of Irish agriculture by providing best practice guidance backed up by science.
‘‘By including women in scientific research, we make it better, more open and inclusive, with a diversity of voices and backgrounds bringing fresh ideas and perspectives on research problems, helping to challenge the status quo, and ultimately improve both the research process and outcomes for our society,” Dr. Krol said.