WOMEN AND SCIENCE
The “Women and Science” month comes to a close: a look back at the “Women’s Health, Women in Health” symposium and the latest events to check out
Since February 9, the campus has been hosting a variety of events and activities for "Women and Science" month. The initiative, coordinated and led by several departments on campus that were keen to give a voice to women at the Institut Pasteur through various media outlets, is drawing to a close today. Read on for all the final news related to "Women and Science" month, including activities on campus, new online content and profiles of female Pasteurians.
You can also find all the latest news on this topic on the dedicated page
Activities on campus
Report on the symposium "Women's Health, Women in Health" on March 17
On March 17, the Institut Pasteur held a symposium entitled "Women's Health, Women in Health" in connection with gender equality month and International Women's Day. More than 300 participants attended this interdisciplinary day exploring women's health and the role of women in health and research.
The event, led by the Department for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) and the Department for Scientific Programming and Incentive Actions (SPAIS), brought together scientists from the Institut Pasteur, the Institut Curie, the Institut Cochin and the iWISH Women's Health Institute, as well as medical staff, public health specialists and NGOs (including EndoFrance and Cœur de Recherche), to foster dialog between specialists in biomedical research, social sciences and public health challenges. Discussions focused on oncology, endometriosis, sex and gender bias in research and diagnosis, cardiovascular health, immunology, autism spectrum disorder, and questions of equity, inclusion and representation of women in science.
Recordings of some of the presentations are now available to watch here
The event was also used to publicize a national campaign led by the Cœur de Recherche Foundation on women's heart health. In 2023, cardiovascular disease claimed the lives of 74,000 women in France (around five times more than breast cancer). The fact that there is still widespread ignorance regarding best practices for the diagnosis, prevention, and management of women’s heart health partly explains these figures. The organizers therefore decided to produce a video to raise awareness of the topic.
Online activity
Throughout the month of March, the ePasteur intranet, the Institut Pasteur website (www.pasteur.fr), and its social media channels highlighted science, women, and health.
Check out the latest publications as the month comes to a close:
• Each week since February 11, the CeRIS has published profiles of women at the Institut Pasteur, presenting their careers and scientific achievements based on Sandra Legout's historical research. This series of profiles echoed the exhibition in the atrium of the François Jacob building which closed on March 20.
Check out the five latest online profiles:
Berthe Kolochine-Erber (1890-1968), a leptospirosis specialist (in French)
Marguerite Lwoff (1905-1979), a specialist in microbial nutrition and virology (in French)
Antonina Shedrina Guélin (1904-1988), a specialist in aquatic bacteriophages (in French)
Marguerite Faure, "La Capitaine" (1910-2007), a biochemist specializing in phospholipids (in French)
Françoise Grumbach (1902-1985), a specialist in experimental chemotherapy for tuberculosis (in French)
• And take a look at the final "CeRIS favorites" videos on women's health, together with a selection of books about women.
Profiles of Pasteurian women
What does it mean to be a woman in science today? Some of the Institut Pasteur's female scientists share their thoughts
For this latest issue of the newsletter, we are pleased to bring you the last testimonial from female Institut Pasteur scientists whose research was recognized with awards in 2025.
“Being a woman in research means having access to every aspect of what it means to be human, just as our grandmothers hoped. It means striving for excellence in science without having to give anything up: being a mother, a friend, a wife, a mentor, a tutor, a leader – if one so chooses, and in whatever order one wishes... It also means taking responsibility for the model of scientist we present to our young people, both women and men, so that gender parity in the scientific world is no longer a matter for debate.”
Anne-Lise Giraud, Director of the Hearing Institute and the reConnect University Hospital Institute (reConnect IHU) and head of the Neural coding and engineering of human speech team