Soil Pollinator Health
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What can ProPollSoil do for women and girls in science?

Healthy soils and thriving pollinators are not only the foundation of much of our food production and other ecosystem services but also linked to people’s lives and communities. And, as with the role of soil-dependent pollinators, the role of women and girls in science is often overlooked.

“Women play a key role in small-scale farming and food security in many regions, while men often dominate large-scale agricultural practices. Traditional knowledge and practices are often held and passed on by women. This knowledge is crucial for biodiversity conservation”, says Dr. Alejandra Parreño, ProPollSoil Gender and Diversity Lead from the coordinating institution Technical University Munich in Germany. “In ProPollSoil, we are committed to reflecting these realities in how we hire, work together, design experiments, and engage with others.”

The EU-funded ProPollSoil project has therefore formulated guidelines on gender, diversity, and equality that researchers are encouraged to follow from the outset. To support women and girls in science, all project partners are encouraged to:

  • Promote equal representation of women and men in all project activities and decision-making.
  • Include gender- and diversity-specific experiences and needs in workshops, surveys, and community science actions.
  • Support women and young farmers in academia, land management, and conservation.
  • Use gender-inclusive language in all communications and training.
  • Allow flexibility in work hours and remote participation in meetings.
  • Provide mentoring and training opportunities for junior scientists, particularly women, parents, and underrepresented minorities.

Importantly, gender perspectives should also be incorporated into the research design and field activities. Inviting people of all genders, especially women, to contribute observations on pollinator activity will enrich the quality of the research by ensuring a representative sample of existing perspectives is included in the conclusions.