March 8: Spotlight on Women in Science at ENS
For the occasion of International Women’s Rights Day, female students from the physics and computer science departments share their experiences and commitment to achieving greater gender parity in science.
“In France, women scientists remain a minority,” emphasizes Charlotte Jacquemot, cognitive science researcher, Director of the Cognitive Studies Department, and Gender Equality Representative at ENS-PSL. For several years, ENS has been implementing initiatives to promote gender parity in its scientific departments, including mentorship, a scholarship program, and events and meetings with students, such as during the recently concluded Women and Girls in Science month.
Inequalities Experienced Starting from Secondary Education
“I became aware that it wasn’t seen as normal for a woman to pursue science in high school, due to unpleasant remarks from other students. However, my classes were always gender-balanced. It was when I entered preparatory classes that I was struck by the lack of women; there were 9 of us out of 47 in the first year, and then 6 out of 35 in the second year. I began to realize I was experiencing sexism. I felt it was harder to be listened to and seen as capable of understanding what we were learning by my classmates. It was also more challenging to feel legitimate in doing math, whereas I had never felt that way in gender-balanced classes. As I progressed in my studies, I gained confidence, but it still often happens that I have to prove that I belong,” explains Valentine Blanpain, a master’s student in computer science at ENS-PSL, specializing in cryptography and quantum computing.
Valentine Blanpain, normalienne
A similar experience is shared by Charlotte Farcot-Delfini, a second-year master’s student in the physics department:
“I only started to feel the effects of the lack of gender parity in science from the first year of the scientific track. The number of girls drastically decreased, and I sensed that the perception and attitude of the teachers (almost exclusively male) began to change as well. The first year of preparatory classes for grandes écoles felt particularly harsh, both due to the different treatment of girls and boys by the teachers and the behavior of the male students in my class, who were quite dismissive towards girls. Since entering ENS, even though the lack of parity persists, I again feel that I fully belong, and I can truly thrive, thanks to the support and attitude of my professors, as well as the behavior of most of the boys in my cohort.”
Making Women Scientists Visible : The Key to Achieving Parity
Valentine Blanpain is committed to gender parity by participating each year in organizing the Rendez-Vous des Jeunes Mathématiciennes et Informaticiennes (RJMI), immersive days at ENS dedicated to mathematics for high school girls.
“I believe it is essential to expose the general public, especially children, to images of women scientists with whom they can identify. This includes actions in classrooms, single-gender days, and creating content where women scientists are visible… In the professional world, I think we need to increase the visibility of women’s work, particularly that of female researchers. During my second-year internship, I attended a conference given by a researcher who presented work done with seven other authors, all of whom were women. That left a significant impression on me.”
Amélie Fournier, a first-year master’s student in the physics department, has also participated in the Rendez-Vous des Jeunes Mathématiciennes et Informaticiennes (RJMI) when she was younger:
“I was welcomed by students from ENS Lyon, and I have very fond memories of the moments shared with the other participants. The more images of women scientists there are in the collective imagination, the more young women will be inspired to pursue these careers.”
Amélie Fournier, normalienne, Women in Stem scholarship recipient
Empowering Young Women’s Belonging in Scientific Studies
Launched in 2023, the Women in STEM scholarship program at the École Normale Supérieure awards a scholarship of 1,000 euros per month to each female student admitted through the Concours Normalien Étudiant (CNE) in the departments of physics, mathematics, and computer science. In just two years, the number of applications from women has increased, and the physics and mathematics departments have recruited their first gender-balanced class through the CNE.
Amélie and Charlotte are both scholarship recipients :
“The scholarship provides a financial advantage for international mobility during research internships and academic experiences in different cultural contexts. It also takes gender biases into account during the selection process, as young women tend to promote themselves less,” explains Amélie Fournier.
“It is undeniable that the appeal of this scholarship program, as well as the awareness among students of ENS’s strong commitment to achieving greater gender parity in science, could serve as a positively triggering effect for students who might self-censor. It could also have a positive long-term impact, particularly on the careers of the scholarship recipients, who enter the professional world with a significant advantage,” adds Charlotte Farcot-Delfini.
Charlotte Farcot-Delfini, normalienne, Women in Stem scholarship recipient
Finally, organizing meetings with female researchers and teachers can inspire students to continue their studies despite the challenges they face, according to Valentine Blanpain:
“I have felt a real sisterhood among female students and researchers in science during my studies. Thanks to events at ENS, I was able to talk with researchers from the very beginning of my first year, and that really helped offset the fact that there were so few women in my classes.”