Encouraging change: Women in Science

Diversity and Inclusion

Article

7 February 2022

Inspirational stories from women scientists at Nutreco are being shared this week in a series of podcasts, ahead of the International Day of Women and Girls in Science on 11 February.

Their passions, the challenges they faced - and how they overcame them – are revealed in five interviews with women from around the world.

“Even today, in the 21st century, women and girls are being side-lined in science-related fields due to their gender,” said UNESCO’s Director-General Audrey Azoulay.

“Women need to know that they have a place in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, and that they have a right to share in scientific progress.”

Nutreco’s sustainability roadmap 2025 defines a pathway towards gender equality and female empowerment.

“At Nutreco we want to be part of the change,” explained Arianna de Vries, the company’s marketing specialist in LATAM. “So we’ve developed a series of podcasts that aim to connect and inspire women who work or aspire to work in science. Through five episodes, we will be highlighting amazing women within Nutreco and its divisions: Trouw Nutrition and Skretting.

The International Day of Women and Girls in Science is a moment to focus both on the huge steps forward women have made in carving out successful and inspiring careers in science, but also acknowledging that there are still gender inequalities in science to overcome.”

Jet Huijser, who works in R&D at Trouw Nutrition , added: “In the field of science, gender inequality is still an obstacle for global development. Only a third of scientific research positions worldwide are held by women. At the same time, women who have a professional career in science often face shorter, lower paid careers, and tend to receive lower research grants than their male counterparts.”

“In this series we will be crossing borders with colleagues from different countries around the world and language barriers, since all the episodes will have translations into Spanish or English. We will talk with each of them about their professional career and achievements, demonstrating that as an industry we should care more about the passion and skills of each person than their gender.”

The participants are:

Lucia Luijben – Exploration Manager at NutEx
Ei Lin Ooi – Technical Director APAC at Nutreco
Julia Wolska – Team Leader Feed Technology, Aquaculture Innovation at Skretting
Leslie McKnight – Global Validation Research Team Lead at Trouw Nutrition
Alexandra Naranjo – Technical Director for South and Central America at Trouw Nutrition

Colleagues across Nutreco and beyond are invited to listen to the story of each of Nutreco’s inspiring colleagues, as well as to join us in becoming an agent of change, recognizing the role of women in science and inspiring more women and girls to pursue their passion for science.