Women in Science’ documentary inspires IMPA Tech students
The screening of the film was accompanied by a chat about women’s trajectories
24/3/25
“It’s great to feel represented in science,” said IMPA Tech student Nicole Maria Freire after the screening of the documentary “Women in Science”, by the Mídia Ciência group, last Friday (21) at Maravalley Port. She was one of the undergraduate students who gained an extra dose of motivation at the end of the first week of classes for the 2025 academic year.
After the screening, a chat about gender barriers was held with guests Cintia Diallo (State University of Mato Grosso do Sul), Lucas Verão, director of the documentary, and André Mazini, general coordinator of the Mídia Ciência program.
The initiative is an action of IMPA’s Institutional Communication and marks International Women’s Day, celebrated on March 8th. Asla Sá, IMPA Tech’s academic manager, and Thais Corrêa, skills development manager, also took part in the screening of the documentary and welcomed the guests.
“It’s great to feel represented in a world that is mostly occupied by men, but I believe that this will change at some point. Through these projects, these initiatives, conversation circles, screenings of this type of documentary, other girls can feel inspired to also occupy what we are currently occupying at IMPA Tech,” said Nicole Maria Freire, a student in the new graduating class.
The hour-long film gives voice to the trajectory of women committed to scientific production in Mato Grosso do Sul. The aim of the project is to encourage support, investment and recognition for women in the field, based on the testimonies of scientists, professors, students and managers.
The round table discussion covered a range of topics, in particular the occupation of scientific and management spaces by women and the challenges they still face. Other subjects were also discussed, such as the experience of black women in academia; the experience of researchers who are mothers; wage inequality; and the participation of men in the fight against prejudice.
Another focus of the debate was the need to incorporate more and more initiatives to combat prejudice and break down stereotypes in academia. One of the strategies, according to André Mazini, is to bring people’s experiences into the scientific environment. “We tend to understand situations better when we hear stories. When someone tells a story, we identify with it and internalize it, far beyond reading an indicator, a survey or a graph. As well as being researchers, we also have the ability to tell stories, to make people really aware, and not just understand, not just have access to cold data.”
Cintia Diallo added that the round table discussions promoted by IMPA Tech are one of the keys to the growth of such pertinent debates. “Conversation circles are extremely important, because they help us to identify a situation, to name that situation, to take a stand and also to demand that the institution, be it a university or a workplace, take a stand and look at this type of oppression. So it’s very important that we learn to denaturalize behaviour and also learn to talk to other people. We only deconstruct if we talk. It’s in this sense that we can build another society,” explained Cintia.
Student Maria Isabely Sousa attended the screening of the movie and the talk. For her, the initiative was an inspiration and an incentive to feel part of the scientific environment and face the challenges that still exist in the area. “I really enjoyed the talk, I think it was very representative. I believe that all girls, especially in this area of exact sciences, have thought ‘is this for me? It’s very good to see other women who have been through this and think that we can do it too,” she concluded.
Read more: ‘IMPA is global standard A+’, says Armínio Fraga in IMPA Tech master class
See also: Effective and assertive communication is the subject of a lecture at IMPA Tech
