Flavia Meotti is one of the winners of the USP Mothers Researcher Award - 2022
CEPIDRIDC Redoxoma
Associate professor at the Departamento de Bioquímica, Instituto de Química at Universidade de São Paulo (USP), member of the RIDC Redoxoma, and mother of little Gabriela, scientist Flavia Meotti received last week the USP Mothers Researcher Award - 2022 in the professor category. It was the first edition of the award, given to professors, post-docs, post-graduates, and undergraduates in the biological sciences and health areas.
“I was very happy with the university initiative. Initially, the fact that the institution recognizes that career challenges are even greater when they are in parallel with motherhood makes us feel part of the whole and shows us that in fact there is a careful look in this direction. Motherhood is a choice, like other choices we make throughout life and career, but motherhood and career don’t have to be mutually exclusive, and knowing that your peers and the institution you work also see it this way is very rewarding. I understand this initiative as a model that could be followed in other institutions. Even though there is currently a greater division of tasks between mothers and fathers for family care, mothers in general prioritize care with their children much more rigorously, which, in many cases, ends up harming their careers. In short, the award represents an opportunity to show that it is possible to choose motherhood, which is a dream for many women, without giving up a scientific career,” said the researcher.
The USP Research Mothers Award – 2022 was launched by the Dean of Research and Innovation at the University of São Paulo to recognize the excellence of scientific, cultural, or artistic productions by adoptive or biological research mothers of children up to 12 years of age or a child with a disability with no age limit. The initiative recognizes the work in child care, which requires many hours of dedication and effort, impacts academic opportunities and career progression, and is most often carried out by mothers. The award also considered applications from male or LGBTQIA+ researchers who proved to be exclusive caregivers for their children.
