12/10/2018

Mini-documentary addresses gender and race in mathematics.

Karine Rodrigues

Tatiana Paim is from the field of differential geometry. She completed her bachelor's degree five years ago, earned a master's degree, and is now a doctoral candidate at the University of São Paulo (USP). For almost a decade, therefore, she has been immersed in a mathematical environment where, according to her observation, diversity is lacking. But she has motivations to move forward, enter teaching, and create opportunities. And one of them is at IMPA.

“One thing that motivates me a lot is seeing other women doing mathematics. There's the case of Carolina Araujo at IMPA, who is a woman working at the most important institute in the country, perhaps in Latin America. So I thought: wow, it's possible to get there too,” says Tatiana.

Award-winning researcher and member of the Committee for Women in Mathematics of the International Mathematical Union (IMU), Carolina has already experienced opening up opportunities. In addition to her studies in complex algebraic geometry, she keeps a close eye on the issue of gender diversity in science. Therefore, she knows that the barriers encountered can be even greater for those who, like Tatiana, are Black.

Tatiana and Carolina's stories are featured in the mini-documentary "Potência N," released this Thursday by Gênero e Número, a data journalism firm focused on gender issues. Supported by the Serrapilheira Institute , the production brings together interviews and a series of indicators that reveal how, from a racial perspective, diversity in science in the country leaves even more to be desired. According to the latest Higher Education Census (2016), Black women with doctorates do not reach 3% of the total number of professors in the country, a scenario that becomes even more critical in mathematics.

To produce this report, Gênero e Número followed 20 Black women mathematicians for over a week. Invited by the World Meeting for Women in Mathematics (WM)² , they participated in the event on academic research and gender issues, and in the International Congress of Mathematicians (ICM 2018) . Held for the first time in a country in the Southern Hemisphere, the event brought together researchers from 114 countries in August at Riocentro. IMPA's Director-General, Marcelo Viana, chaired the ICM Organizing Committee.

In addition to Tatiana and Carolina, who co-organized (WM)², the mini-documentary features, among other interviewees, Marie Françoise Ouedraogo, president of the African Women Mathematical Association, and Manuela Souza, a researcher at the Federal University of Bahia. Like Carolina, the Bahia native was also a source of inspiration. Check it out on Potência N.