100 women against stereotypes: an instrument for allowing experts to speak, starting from science

Several research studies on women in the news media show that women are rarely called in as experts. Those who explain and interpret the world are almost always men: in 76% of cases, according to national research by the Global Media Monitoring Project 2020.
Yet there are women experts. And they can dust off media language which, by ignoring them, ignores signs of the times and fails to recognise the contribution of women to all the various sectors of society: from politics to science.

This is why the Osservatorio di Pavia and the Gi.U.Li.A. association, in collaboration with Bracco Foundation and with the support of the Representation of the European Commission in Italy, at the end of 2016 launched 100esperte.it, an online databank inaugurated in 2016 with the names and CVs of female STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) experts, a sector historically underrepresented by women but a strategic one for the economic and social development of Italy.

The website was conceived and built to grow over time, increasing the number of experts and also the sectors covered:

• STEM (since 2016)
• Economics and Finance (since 2017)
• International Politics (since 2019)
• History and Philosophy (since 2021)
• At the start of 2023, the databank was extended to the Sport sector.

In the next eight years the world GNP could grow by more than 2% if the gap in the participation of women in the economy were halved, estimates an OECD report. Stereotypes, discrimination and prejudice against women are making the world pay a significant price in lack of growth. Making the most of the competences of female experts is important for achieving a farsighted viewpoint on a more democratic and inclusive future that could guarantee greater wealth for all.

The selection of the experts was carried out in collaboration with a Scientific Committee specifically selected for each sector and with the Centro Genders of Milan University for the STEMs and with the Istituto ISPI for International Politics. With professors of the Bocconi University for the Economics and Finance area, professors of the University of Milano-Bicocca for Philosophy and of the University of Cagliari for History. For Sport, the Scientific Committee is made up of representatives of the major Italian institutions in the sector.

The project enjoys the patronage of RAI Radiotelevisione Italiana, the National Council of the Ordine dei Giornalisti and the Consigliera Nazionale di Parità at the Ministry of Labour and Social Policies.

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