PROJECT
Women are a vital driving force of scientific progress
and an invaluable resource in STEM.
The STEM Passion project wishes to bring into the spotlight women scientists, who have embarked with great passion on diverse professional paths in scientific fields and are not only driving innovation in scientific research but also in society at large.
Two-thirds of future professions will involve science and technology, but the numbers show that there is still an underrepresentation of women in STEM fields. According to the UNESCO Institute of Statistics, just one-third (33,3%) of the world’s researchers are women and 35% of world students in STEM are girls (2024 UIS GEM Gender Report).
In the Life Sciences, more than 50% of graduate and doctoral students are women. However, many of them gradually abandon their scientific career and only 15-26% become professors and reach decision-making positions (UNESCO Women in Science; EU She Figures 2021). These data raised awareness and have driven initiatives in academia and entrepreneurship, to increase women’s representation in STEM and leadership roles. Despite efforts, prejudices and stereotypes related to the image of scientists persist. The visibility of STEM women in the media is low, with an interview share of 25-29% (Geena Davis Institute’s on Gender in Media report 2024), and the citation rate is half that of men, even in scientific journalism (S. Reardon, Nature, 29 July 2021).
This journey wishes to make the stories and achievements of women in STEM more visible to the general public, with the intent of increasing attention to women’s scientific excellence and leadership while inspiring diversity in the public image of scientists. With this aim, between 2019 and 2024, Elisabetta Citterio photographed over sixty female scientists working in various roles at leading international research institutions.
Unique as they are, as their paths are different, she was fascinated by how women collectively contribute to science and a better future. Each can be an example that others, especially the youth, can relate to and be inspired by.
“Every day researchers encounter new challenges, which stimulate their curiosity and passion, sparking their desire to push the boundaries of knowledge and change the world. In this, for me, lies the beauty of doing science. I wish STEM Passion to be an encouragement for future generations to pursue careers in science and particularly for women to become leaders in science”.
“Thank you scientists for your passion, example, and all the tireless work you put into research for a better world for all of us and the new generations. A warm thank you for cooperating in this project”.
Elisabetta Citterio. Author and photographer.
“STEM Passion grew out of a shared vision: the desire to build a future with a fair and equal representation of women in STEM disciplines through storytelling”.
“A love for science and a passion for STEM disciplines are the common threads that bind the stories of these extraordinary women together. Every single photo asserts a new vision of the world, a new paradigm in which scientific excellence is shared by women and men alike”.
Claudia Cagliano. Co-author.
“When approaching the sound design for STEM Passion, I instinctively felt I had to give Elisabetta Citterio’s portraits a voice, thereby enhancing and expanding the ‘photographic gesture’.
I thought it would be emblematic to ask these scientists to ‘declare their passion’ for science through a short voice message in their native languages. As soon as I received these messages, I decided to integrate them into STEM passion’s sound design as part of the installation.
The architecture of the exhibition spaces, their minimalism and visual cleanness inspired and guided me in composing and creating clean and minimal soundscapes.
I made room for the voices of these women and their passion for science, highlighting these ‘sonic snapshots’, as fragments of a world that needs and deserves to be fully unveiled”.
Andrea Pozzoli. Composer, artistic producer, and sound designer.