CHEMICAL oceanographer Dr. Charissa Ferrera was named the Philippines’ National Fellow of the 2018 L’Oréal-Unesco’s For Women in Science Fellowship (FWIS), in acknowledgment of her research on the water quality in the coastal towns of Anda and Bolinao in Pangasinan.
The two municipalities were hit by milkfish kills in June, incurring P107 million in losses. The occurrence was reportedly caused by the rapid fluctuation in water temperature that decreased the dissolved oxygen in the area.
Ferrera’s research led to the discovery of higher-than-normal phosphorus levels in the water and sediments which often cause harmful algal bloom or red tide.
“Most of the people in my hometown don’t know about my profession. They know about teachers and doctors, but they don’t know what a scientist does,” said Ferrera.
“So for the national fellowship [program], I will be using the grant to communicate acidification and phosphorus pollution to the fishing community. I would also like to have an in-depth study of what happens to the phosphorus in the sediments using oxygen isotope ratio.” Ferrera hopes that through better understanding of the phenomenon, sustainable mariculture will be achieved.
The Filipina scientist also sees her accomplishment as an opportunity that will allow for more women to be inspired to pursue careers in science.
Despite recent developments to push for an increase in women’s labor force participation in the field of scientific research, they only account for 30 percent of the world’s researchers, and with even lower percentages at higher decision-making levels.
In the Philippines, however, female researchers close this gender gap by comprising 59.5 percent of the professional population in natural sciences, 63.2 percent in social sciences, and 70.2 percent in medical sciences. This progress is 11 percent higher than the global average.
“The first time I got hold of the program, a single line captured my attention. It said, ‘Celebrating the women who dared to ask.’ This is because when I learned about this program, I dared to ask my supervisor to nominate me,” Ferrera joked during her acceptance speech in Makati on June 5. She continued, “I was grateful that my asking bore fruit.”
Ferrera is the fifth Philippine national fellow to receive the grant. The first two belonged to Dr. Maria Corazon A. de Ungria and Dr. Laura T. David in 2011 when the program was first launched in the country. This was followed by another two in 2012, Dr. Maria Cecilia Conaco and Dr. Aletta Yñiguez.
The year 2018 marks a milestone for the Philippines as FWIS celebrates the return of the program in the country after it was postponed in 2013 due to Supertyphoon Haiyan (local code name Yolanda) when the foundation focused on rebuilding affected schools. “There is still so much we can do to accelerate the advancement of women scientists in the Philippines. It’s important that we don’t only raise awareness about this challenge, but we [must] also try to provide solutions. We are pleased to bring back the FWIS in the Philippines,” said L’Oréal Philippines Managing Director Thibault de Saint Victor.
The FWIS initiative began 20 years ago through the partnership of the L’Oréal Foundation and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. The program was established to honor women scientists who are making significant contributions in their respective disciplines by providing them assistance to pursue their research.
To date, it has 53 national and regional programs established in 117 countries. It has globally recognized 3,100 women scientists, and honored 102 laureates for excellence in science, including three Nobel Prize winners.
“One of our ambitions is to make science accessible to all and ensure that we change mind-sets because a [new] mind-set, can lead to the empowerment of women in the field of science,” ended Thibault.