STEM Passion – A Journey Inspired by Women in Science

Exhibition portraying 25 international women scientists in STEM disciplines

Two thirds of future job opportunities will be in technology and knowledge transfer. However, current statistics show that women are still under-represented in STEM disciplines. According to the UNESCO Institute for Statistics, only a third (33.3%) of researchers worldwide are women, and only 35% of STEM students are female. In the life sciences, more than 50% of graduates and doctoral students are women, but a considerable number of them abandon their scientific careers, with only 15-20% reaching professorial or leadership positions (sources: UNESCO Women in Science; EU She Figures 2021).

Through their project STEM PASSION, exhibition curators and artists Dr. Elisabetta Citterio and Claudia Cagliano aim to draw public attention to the achievements and leadership of women in science. They want to show the diverse and multifaceted image of scientists and emphasise the importance of recognising and celebrating the contributions of women in the scientific community.

We would like to emphasise here that also people identifying as trans*, inter*, non-binary or agender are underrepresented and disadvantaged in the field of science. They are not visible in this exhibition.

Between 2019 and 2023, they interviewed and photographed more than 50 women scientists in various positions at top international research institutions. They include prominent figures such as Maria Leptin (President of the European Research Council), Edith Heard (Director of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory, EMBL), Fiona Watt (Director of the European Molecular Biology Organisation, EMBO), Asifa Akhtar (Vice-President of the Max Planck Society) and Magdalena Skipper (Editor-in-Chief of the journal Nature). The portraits also include Berlin-based scientists from the Berlin Institute for Health at the Charité (BIH) and the Max Delbrück Center.

• Maike Sander, Scientific Director of Max Delbrück Center

• Susanne Wolf, Groupleader at Max Delbrück Center and Principal Investigator at Charité 

• Marina Mikhaylova, HU Professor

• Sara Checa Esteban, Professor at Julius Wolff Institut (BIH)

• Sophie van Linthout, Professor at BIH Center for Regenerative Therapies

The exhibition featuring 25 selected portraits is now on display in Berlin for a month.

The exhibition is organized by the Berlin Institute of Health at Charité (BIH) and the Max Delbrück Center, generously supported by BR50, as well as the Collaborative Research Centers SFB1315, SFB 1444, SFB 1470, and the Priority Program SPP2395.