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Women Just Wanna Have OR: Young Researchers Interview Expert Researchers

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Abstract

Is the gender gap still a topic in the academic world and in particular in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM)? What difficulties did women who pursue a career in academia have to overcome? What are the differences among countries and what has changed compared to the past? As women and members of a community of young researchers in Operations Research (OR), we have tried to find answers to these questions by interviewing a group of prominent female professors and affirmed researchers in STEM belonging to different generations, with dissimilar careers and experiences. We have discussed with them about awareness, leaky pipelines, mobility, mentoring, society, role of education, and more. Their motivating stories and opinions contained in this article have allowed us to extrapolate a portrait of what barriers women encountered in STEM in the past, but also what challenges and stereotypes are still to be overcome, striving to close the gap.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Margarida Carvalho, Martine Labbé, Ivana Ljubić, Anna Nagurney, Dolores Romero Morales, and Grazia Speranza for the time they dedicated to answer our questions. Without their contribution, we could not have given such a complete insight on the current state of women in the OR community.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Statistical Sciences, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy

    Lavinia Amorosi

  2. Deutsche Post Chair – Optimization of Distribution Networks, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany

    Rossana Cavagnini

  3. Optrail s.r.l., Rome, Italy

    Veronica Dal Sasso

  4. Vattenfall BA Wind, Kobenhavn, Denmark

    Martina Fischetti

  5. Faculty of Science and Technology, Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, Bolzano, Italy

    Valentina Morandi

  6. Department of Mathematics, University of Trento, Trento, Italy

    Alice Raffaele

Authors
  1. Lavinia Amorosi
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  2. Rossana Cavagnini
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  3. Veronica Dal Sasso
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  4. Martina Fischetti
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  5. Valentina Morandi
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  6. Alice Raffaele
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Veronica Dal Sasso.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on The AIROYoung Experience: Operations Research for Young Enthusiasts

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Amorosi, L., Cavagnini, R., Sasso, V.D. et al. Women Just Wanna Have OR: Young Researchers Interview Expert Researchers. SN Oper. Res. Forum 2, 2 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s43069-020-00039-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s43069-020-00039-8

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