“Science is a beautiful place and there really is room for everyone and everyone.” It is on the train that takes her home from Turin after a day at the university where she is attending the third year of Physics. And that’s where that Linda Raimondo, 21, tells us about his unbridled passion for the stars and for science. Started with a video call on Skype, aged 12, with Margherita Hack to which he asked for an explanation on quantum mechanics. And he received it.
Science has become Linda’s daily dimension.
As a student, aspiring astronaut, science communicator. Both within television programs on RaiGulp and as she herself told in her first book Between the stars and a little further, published by Mondadori.
February 11 is the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, an opportunity to reiterate how numbers and formulas are not just a “thing for men”.
Today in our country, according to what the international organization Save The Children reveals, only 16.5% of young women graduated from scientific faculties, against 37% of males; just 22% graduated from technical institutes, compared with 42% among male peers. A gap that arises already in the first years of school and continues in the world of work: in the STEM areas (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) women represent only 20% of full professors. February 11 is celebrated the International day of women and girls in science, an opportunity to reiterate how numbers and formulas are not just a “thing for men”.
Quite right?
«Yes, no one has ever told me directly, but unfortunately I fear that within society it represents a fairly common thought based on old stereotypes that by 2021 should already have been overcome. Despite this, I am strongly convinced that things are changing: we are slowly moving towards gender equality and I hope that in a few years this goal will be achieved and we no longer have to talk about “male professions” and “female professions” “.
How would you describe your experience as a girl in science?
«It is an all-encompassing experience, but at the same time beautiful. Totalizing because studying and university take up most of my time, beautiful because I study what I like and I never stop learning. I think the beauty of science is the fact that it teaches perseverance: in fact, perseverance is a necessary characteristic for a scientist, but I believe that it is often fundamental also in life ».
Perseverance has already led you to achieve several goals.
«To date my main objectives are university studies and dissemination. 2020 was a special year and, like everyone else, from one day to the next I found myself being stuck in the four walls of my home. I took the opportunity to better understand what I wanted to do, it was a break that in the end benefited me and today I am more convinced than ever that I want to engage in dissemination, whether on TV or on stage or in schools, I want to commit myself to carry it forward at best, because I believe there is so much need to talk about science to people ».
How to do it?
«Science is the basis of progress and it is necessary for everyone to know it. Continuing to invest in scientific research is the solution to the great problems of humanity and will allow us not only to solve them, but will also lead us to touch the highest peaks of human thought, allowing us to evolve as a species “.
The data show that in Italy there are still few girls and women who undertake scientific paths.
«I recommend doing it without fear. Science is a beautiful “place” and there really is room for everyone and everyone. I also recommend to be determined because, as I said before, sometimes it is just a matter of perseverance and the desire to move forward despite the difficulties that may be encountered ».
The dream?
«I have many dreams in the drawer, so let’s say that to make them come true I set myself the same goal every day: arrive in the evening and be satisfied with the day, because maybe during the day I learned something new. I do not set limits to my dreams, and I want to see how far I can get by relying only on my strength ».
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