Campaigning for Gender Equity in Science and Research

Authored by Georgia Nikolakopoulou, Dissemination & Communication Leader, UrbanAIR Project Dissemination & Communication Manager, Future Needs.

Finding one's professional path in the scientific field still presents more hurdles for women than for men. Global statistics on female representation across science sectors confirm this - as does my personal journey as an architect and science communicator. Although women make up half the European population, their representation in science and research remains much lower.

This is why I am proud to be part of the UrbanAIR project, which stands as a model of equity, a consortium that proves how technical excellence and gender equity go hand-in-hand.

From the Drafting Table to the Data Lab

I consider myself fortunate to have attended Architecture School in Greece at a time when the student body was already female-dominated. However, that hasn’t always been the case. While the workforce is more balanced today, the construction sector remains heavily male-dominated, and women continue to face systemic discrimination. For me, architecture became a dream as the perfect intersection of science and art; that outweighed the challenges of the field's traditional culture.

When my career later shifted toward science communication, design and research met again, this time serving the goals of European innovation. Yet, while women are the majority in SciComm roles, they remain a minority in broader STEM research and in leading roles.

A Collaborative Effort for Urban Air Quality

Although women make up half of the European population, their representation in science and research remains much lower. As a dissemination leader in EU projects, I have seen first-hand scientific fields that are still vastly dominated by men, like aviation and  High-Performance Computing (HPC). This remains a reality despite the European Commission’s efforts to use gender balance as a ranking criterion for funding proposals.

Consider these figures from the She Figures 2024 and recent Eurostat data:

• 34.8% of managers in the EU are women

• 33% of STEM researchers in EU are women

• 31% of Horizon Europe project consortia are women-led

• 22% of researchers in the EU’s ICT sector are women

UrbanAIR is challenging these norms through a truly interdisciplinary and balanced team. While we are proud to have Professor Femke Vossepoel (TU Delft) as our scientific coordinator and many women in leading roles, the project's strength lies in the synergy between our female and male experts.

UrbanAIR consortium, led by Femke Vossepoel, meeting at Scale Space, London, in November 2025.

Leading by Example: #WomenInUrbanAIR

With 49% female representation across our consortium, UrbanAIR stands as a model for the modern research environment. Leading experts like Professor Marion Samler (STFC) and Natalie Theeuwes (KNMI) coordinate and work closely with our entire team of simulations and heat resilience specialists to deliver real-world impact, while our technical breakthroughs are driven by a diverse group of leaders. Alongside the incredible work of female academics like Femke Vossepoel, Tina Comes, Amineh Ghorbani (TUDelft), and Nele Veldeman (VITO), our project benefits from the deep expertise of key male researchers like Maarten van Reeuwijk (Imperial College London). Their contributions in data assimilation, atmospheric modelling, and urban planning are vital to the project's success, creating a collaborative environment where expertise, not gender, is the primary currency.

Femke Vossepoel, presenting a well-balanced project team including young and senior researchers, male and female: Jan Mateau, Cristina Carnerero, Andeu Julian. Alvaro Criado, Gabriel Moreira, Angela Mayer, Sasu Karttunen, Solomina Kurchaba, Beth O'Dwyer and Herminia Torello-Sentelles

The International Day of Women and Girls in Science on February 11th offers a great opportunity to discuss this inclusivity. It isn't just about highlighting one group; it’s about showing that women are equally capable of leading roles and of contributing to science, as men, and about how a balanced, diverse team produces better science.

This article is the introduction to our February campaign: #WomenInUrbanAIR. Throughout the month, we will be sharing a series of interviews with several of our female researchers to discuss their roles and challenges and the collaborative spirit that drives UrbanAIR.

Stay tuned to meet them one by one throughout February!

Learn more about our consortium, the role of our partners and the key people in our partners' webpage.