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International Women’s Day at ESA
On Thursday 6 March, ESA marked International Women’s Day with a hybrid event organised by the ESA-wide Network Women+ Space, also open to participation by the Women in Aerospace Europe group. The event featured interventions by ESA Directors Simonetta Cheli and Géraldine Naja, and a presentation from OECD Senior Advisor Angelica Salvi Del Pero. Although not able to be there in person, ESA’s Director General also contributed to the event through an opening video message.
This year’s International Women’s Day promoted the theme #AccelerateAction. ESA highlighted the occasion by leading a conversation about the current challenges on the path to gender equality and how to stimulate progress.
Following an introduction by ESA’s Chief Diversity Officer, the event began with a video message from the Director General highlighting ESA’s deep commitment to the values of Diversity and Inclusiveness and the ways the agency is pushing forward the different aspects relevant to gender equality, from proactive actions designed to promote gender-balanced representation within the agency to the efforts and collaborations dedicated to furthering Diversity and Inclusion in STEM.
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OECD Senior Advisor for Employment, Labour and Social Affairs Angelica Salvi Del Pero then took the floor to give an overview of the political landscape of gender equality within the OECD, including affecting factors such as shifting global demographics, and to discuss the OECD’s policy recommendations to further gender equality. She highlighted, for example, how outreach and awareness-raising efforts to bring more women and young girls to STEM would benefit from a narrative shift from the idea of ‘natural’ talents to the idea of fostering talents.
Director of Earth Observation Programmes and Head of ESRIN Simonetta Cheli discussed the intersections between gender equality and the fight against climate change. She highlighted the growing interest of women (especially young women) in Earth Observation applications that have an impact on sustainability, and how ESA is trying to nurture and capitalise on this interest.
To conclude the meeting, ESA Director of Commercialisation, Industry and Competitiveness, Géraldine Naja, emphasised that achieving gender balance at all levels within ESA has the potential to revolutionise the organisation's culture and serve as a beacon of progress for the entire space sector.
The event was organised in hybrid mode by ESA’s Chief Diversity Officer and the ESA-wide Network Women+ Space in ESA’s Headquarters on Thursday 6 March and counted more than 100 attendees. The Women in Aerospace Europe group also joined the conversation as a first step toward strengthening joint reflections.
