“Why gender matters in plant pathology and beyond?” A special session offered by Gender-SMART was presented yesterday at the 16th Congress of the Mediterranean Phytopathological Union in Cyprus. Dr. Margreet van der Burg from Wageningen University and Panayiota Polykarpou from CUT, presented the importance of integration of gender+ dimension in research.
At yesterday’s special session at the 16th Congress of the Mediterranean Phytopathological Union, offered by Gender-SMART, Dr. Margreet van der Burg presented the topic “Gender in plant health and phytopathology: exploring the research agenda.” With some historical and contemporary examples, Dr. Burg illustrated how women are connected differently from men to plant health and pathology and its research. A window of opportunity was presented on how research, including gender, can help deal with the current challenges the field faces.
Panayiota Polykarpou, Project Manager of Gender-SMART at CUT presented some practical tools and good practices when integrating gender+ dimension, using the tool developed by Yellow Window.
“Better together: Gender Diversity and Inclusion in the workplace” What are the benefits of gender inclusion in the workplace? Looking at how inclusivity enhances prosperity not only on a personal but also on an organizational level, this presentation was offered by Maria Angeli, Gender expert at the Mediterranean Institute of Gender Studies.
A panel on “What are the benefits of diversity and equal representation of genders in academia and industry?” came together to exchange the experiences of the panelists when it comes to diversity in the workplace in academia and industry, as well as offer the audience an opportunity to hear more about the personal experiences of panelists on how and whether diversity and inclusion lead to better results in research, as well as in business. The panelists were Professor Khaled Makkouk, Dr. Anna Maria D’Onghia, Dr. Blanca Landa and Ms. Maria Kaiafa.
