'A feminist act': the reason why this scientist always takes her children on her expeditions

El Tiempo

Individual: Luis Carlos Sarmiento

'A feminist act': the reason why this scientist always takes her children on her expeditions

They don't tell you beforehand that you'll have to choose between a scientific career or starting a family. But that's the message I heard out loud 17 years ago, in my first job after finishing my doctorate in evolutionary biology. During a meeting, a senior academic announced that pregnant women were a financial burden for the department. I was sitting visibly pregnant in the front row. Nobody said anything.