Professor Valentina Mazzucato has been nominated by the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific research (NWO) to join AcademiaNet – the Expert Database for Outstanding Women in Academia. The Database was launched in 2010 by Chancellor Angela Merkel with the aim to raise the visibility of female scientists and increase the number of women in leadership positions. In becoming part of the database, Valentina joins colleagues such as Karin Bijsterveld, Jenny Slatman and, more recenty, Anna Harris.
Women continue to be seriously underrepresented in leadership positions in academia and the sciences; only 21% of the professorships with the highest endowments are held by women throughout the EU. The numbers are similar for important committees and commissions that decide on research awards, professor appointments and research funding. Besides, there is a lack of appropriate tools for quickly finding women academics who are suitable and very good.
AcademiaNet, an initiative of the Robert Bosch Stiftung and the publisher Spektrum der Wissenschaft, strives to fill that void. By providing numerous profiles of excellent women academics from every discipline, excellent female academics will become more visible and more easily accessible. This in turn will make it easier to fill leadership positions and scientific bodies with women academics. Other target groups include journalists and conference organisers searching for proven experts.
Outstanding women academics and scientists are nominated for the portal by the partners of AcademiaNet, such as The Royal Society, The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, The Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, and the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific research (NWO), which nominated Valentina Mazzucato. It is not possible to apply directly.
