Women in limnology: From a historical perspective to a present‐day evaluation

Abstract

Research in limnology is nurtured by the work of many fascinating and passionate women, who have contributed enormously to our understanding of inland waters. Female limnologists have promoted and established the bases of our knowledge about inland waters and fostered the need of protecting the values of those ecosystems. However, on numerous occasions, their contribution to the advancement of limnology has not been duly recognized. Here, we review the presence of women in limnology through the history of the discipline: from the pioneers who contributed to the origins to present day' developments. We aim at visibilizing those scientists and establish them as role models. We also analyze in a simple and illustrative way the current situation of women in limnology, the scientific barriers

Negotiating Gender Roles in Academia: A Courageous Exploration

“…The special session on “Past, present and future of the herstory of limnology” welcomed contributions that discussed key vulnerabilities that challenge women's careers in limnology, and that identified activities, strategies, and solution‐based approaches promoting visibility and participation of women at all career stages. The session hosted three talks about actions to promote an inclusive “fair” science (Mendoza‐Lera and Knäbel 2023), inclusivity in conferences (Lupon et al 2021), and prospects of women in limnology (Catalán et al 2022; Fig. 2).…”

“…Although the situation of female limnologists has improved in several aspects since the 20th century, gender-specific barriers and biases persist (Catal an et al 2022). Unless these barriers are spotted and remedied, female scientists will remain as prominent casualties.…”

A Small Contribution to Achieving Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Justice in Science—The Fair Science Taskforce

“…Disparity in society naturally translates into Science (Meinikmann et al 2022). Although the awareness of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice (DEIJ) in aquatic sciences is increasing (e.g., Sánchez‐Montoya et al 2016; Maranger 2021; Catalán et al 2022) the gender‐ and diversity‐gaps remain (Meinikmann et al 2022). For example, the US scientific workforce is primarily composed of White men (Kozlowski et al 2022) and the “glass ceiling effect” (Cotter et al 2001) is observed before the tenured stages of the scientific career (Sánchez‐Montoya et al 2016).…”