Young woman working in STEM research, drawing inspiration from female pioneers

Thales celebrating the pioneers of yesterday and innovators of tomorrow

Discover how female pioneers continue to inspire the women in the fields of STEM at Thales, and how they build on this inspiration to encourage girls and women to thrive in the industry. Article by Billie Kristiansson.

Thales, one of ASD’s many members fighting for gender equality in the workplace, and encouraging women to pursue careers in STEM honours the women who paved the way with their campaign aimed to empower women around the globe and ensure they feel valued in the sectors of science.

Women inspiring women 

 

Thales’ campaign “#WomenInspiringWomen”, launched in 2023, aims to help guide future generations of women to find their place within the STEM sectors. Thales has asked some of their many skilled women working within the fields of science which STEM pioneer inspired them to pursue careers within this field of work. Some of the prominent women mentioned who continue to inspire women around the globe today are none other than Margaret Hamilton (a pioneer in coding who was responsible for writing the code which managed Apollo 11’s landing on the moon in 1969); Marie Curie ( a pioneer in a field which she named herself, Radioactivity, the first woman to win the Nobel prize, and one of the few people to win in two fields, as well as discovering both radium and polonium); and of course the millions of mothers who continue to inspire and support their daughters every day.  

 

But the women at Thales do not only consider these pioneers as their inspiration, they are also walking in their footsteps, carrying on their legacies, and carving the way for the future generation of women who will become pioneers just as the women before them. 

 

Empowering change: Thales' commitment to gender equality 

 

Thales takes many initiatives to encourage young women to pursue a career in STEM, supporting mentoring programmes for women by women starting a career in the defence industry, networks to fight gender inequality; international competitions to foster girl’s passion for technology and innovative skills; non-profit organisations with the goal of equal presence of women and men in business; as well as partnering with schools and colleges to encourage young women to pursue their dreams within STEM.  

Julie Grollier, Director of Research at the CNRS/Thales Lab in France, talks about drawing her inspiration from the iconic Marie Curie. The physicist Marie Curie needs almost no introduction. She carried out pioneering research into radioactivity (a word she herself invented), discovered two elements – radium and polonium – was the first ever woman to win a Nobel Prize and one of the very few scientists in history to win it in two different fields.

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