Month: March 2023

Bringing the worlds of science and business closer together has been the aim of the Rei Jaume I Prizes since their inception 34 years ago, a goal that was the focus of the discussion at the awards ceremony in Santiago de Compostela. The event was attended by geneticist Ángel Carracedo, María José Alonso, a researcher at the University of Santiago (USC), Felipe Casanueva, Professor of Medicine at the same university, and Andrés Fernández, CEO of Grupo Zendal.

The awards, organised by the Fundación Premios Rei Jaume I, have recognised 160 leading figures in Spanish science throughout their history, including four who were born or trained in Galicia: the economist José Terceiro Lomba, winner of the Rei Jaume I Economics Prize (2000); Carracedo, for Biomedical Research (2009); Alonso, for New Technologies (2011); and Casanueva, for Clinical Medicine (2005). With a prize of 100,000 euros, a diploma and a gold medal in each category, these are the most prestigious awards for scientific work carried out in Spain and among the best-paid in the country. “The Rei Jaume I Prizes are very important for science in Spain and I hope they will continue for many years to come,” said Ángel Carracedo, who added that there is still room for improvement in the integration of research and development within companies. “Spain continues to specialise in low-tech systems. We have some excellent examples, but we need to change the industrial and business system to achieve greater added value, a stronger technological base and more R&D&I in order to be far more competitive,” he explained. “The aim of PhD students is to join the business world, and they all do so, which is very positive. The problem is that the majority leave Spain. Encouraging or facilitating the path to entrepreneurship is essential in our country,” remarked María José Alonso, who also noted that “we have made huge strides in creating start-ups in recent years”. “The idea behind these Awards is magnificent, and when one looks deeper, we realise that there are a great many companies in the Comunidad Valenciana that have also managed to embrace them as businesses. That symbiosis is clearly evident in the enormous support companies give to science,” concluded Casanueva.

The CEO of Grupo Zendal shared his “very positive” experience of public-private collaboration. “Zendal’s best-selling products are developed mainly in partnership with public institutions, one of which is the USC,” explained Fernández. The speakers also emphasised the importance of promoting equality in science through education, as well as within business, to encourage women and girls to develop professionally and take on leadership roles.

The talk was moderated by Margarita Hermo, director of the Galician Association of Family Businesses, a partner organisation of the awards alongside the Valencian Association of Entrepreneurs. During the presentation in Santiago, the executive president of the Jaume I Awards Foundation, Javier Quesada, highlighted the importance of science, research and entrepreneurship: “If a significant proportion of GDP is not invested in science, the consequences will be extremely serious; and the longer it takes for business to engage with science and technology – and, conversely, the longer it takes for the scientific community to open up to business challenges – the greater the risk that Spain will slip into the second or third tier on the international stage,” he said.

Boluda, president of AVE and vice-president of the Rei Jaume I Prizes, highlighted the aims of the prizes: “to make civil society aware of the importance of science, research, technology and entrepreneurship. Without science, without research and without entrepreneurs, we have no future”. He also stressed the importance of “identifying role models who help to inspire an interest in science and business amongst our young people” and “encouraging our public officials to provide strong support for science”.

Women, Science and Business: “There is no single formula for equality, but we must work through education and with the involvement of the whole of society”

The panellists – researchers and businesswomen – all agreed that, whilst there is no single formula for equality, progress must be made across various sectors, starting with education and involving the whole of society, in order to achieve gender parity. Furthermore, they agreed that without the collaboration of men, these goals will never be achieved.

This is one of the conclusions of the 7th Women, Science and Business Colloquium, organised by the Fundación Premios Rei Jaume I in collaboration with CaixaBank, which featured five notable representatives from the worlds of business and science, including two of the Rei Jaume I Prize winners: Ángela Pérez (Entrepreneur 2022) and Marta Reynal-Querol (Economics 2022). Joining them were businesswoman Mónica Duart  (DORMITIENDA), IVIE professor and researcher Alejandro Escribá, and physicist María Moreno Llácer (IFIC). The session was moderated by Arantxa Torres, TVE’s correspondent in the Comunitat Valenciana.

The aim of this event, now in its seventh year, was to explore the key factors for achieving true equality between men and women, under the symbolic title ‘The Formula for Equality’. Alejandro Escribá also contributed to the debate, bringing not only his perspective as a man but also his expertise as a researcher on the report “Diagnosis of the situation of women in corporate ownership and governance”.  

Minority of women in management positions

According to this study, only a quarter of management positions in Spanish companies are held by women. In this regard, Escribá states that “At the IVIE, we must bring this reality to the fore so that we can become aware of the situation and generate momentum for change, such as through events like this one”. In this regard, Escribá believes we must focus on three areas: “Unlearning certain behaviours that are deeply ingrained as a result of centuries of gender stereotypes; working through education; and, finally, internalising these changes.” She also emphasises that it is necessary to involve men in the goals of gender parity in order to ‘create a multiplier effect’

This is an issue on which all the participants agreed, and one that necessarily involves shared responsibility at a personal level – in child-rearing and household care – as is clearly illustrated by the anecdote shared by Rei Jaume I Prize winner and CEO of Health in Code, Ángela Pérez: “The first thing I did to get to this position was to sign an agreement at home, whereby we committed to sharing full responsibility for childcare and household duties, so that I could pursue my career. We have an important role to play in our personal lives in demanding shared responsibility, but we women must also strive to reach the top in our professional lives.”

This is certainly no easy task in the world of science and research, as pointed out by the 2022 Rei Jaume I Prize for Economics winner and researcher at Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona, Marta Reynal-Querol: “The first problem is that there is a bias in promotions; it happens all the time. And the second issue is that we are heavily penalised; for the same mistake, women are penalised far more, and that means that, ultimately, we are promoted less often and our salaries are lower.”

In the business world, something similar to what Reynal-Querol describes can happen, because according to the experience of Mónica Duart, CEO of Dormitienda, “when we interview men and women, the men are 100 per cent confident, but we women have different ways of expressing ourselves; we feel more insecure. We have to break down those barriers. We women sometimes lack the boldness, the drive to forge ahead with confidence. It’s important to draw inspiration from the people around us and commit to social leadership, not individualistic leadership.”

Furthermore, another common element in a ‘formula for equality’ is education. In this regard, María Moreno, a physicist at IFIC (CSIC-UV), says: “The role of secondary school teachers is fundamental; they should encourage girls from a young age to choose STEM careers and tell them that they are capable.” She adds that the responsibility for equality also lies with society as a whole, and that effective policies and the media are essential. In short, and to summarise the discussions at this 7th Women, Science and Business Colloquium, as Professor Alejandro Escribá states, the evidence from numerous studies shows that “if we talk about outcomes in the broadest sense – a good working environment, personal and social wellbeing, and economic benefits – what works best in businesses is gender diversity”.

The Fundación Premios Rei Jaume I is travelling to Santiago on 8 March, where we will hold the awards presentation ceremony in the Galician city.

This Wednesday, 8 March, from 12 noon, the presentation of the Rei Jaume I Prizes will take place in Santiago. Around a hundred business leaders and scientists representing Galician civil society are expected to attend the event.

The aim of the initiative is to bring the business world closer to science and research, whose contribution is essential to the growth and development of society. Following presentations in Zaragoza, Madrid, Bilbao, Barcelona and Seville, the Prizes will be unveiled in Santiago under the slogan “In the service of Science, Innovation and Entrepreneurship”.

This presentation in Santiago de Compostela aims to “highlight the Prizes’ efforts to recognise excellence, identify the immediate challenges facing the Spanish system in the relationship between science, technology and business, and to demonstrate the business benefits of investing in knowledge and science”, says Javier Quesada, the organisation’s president.

In addition to promoting the development of science, research and entrepreneurship to contribute to the growth and evolution of society—which are the main objectives of the Fundación Premios Rei Jaume I—the Foundation has, every year for the past 34 years, presented prizes in various categories to researchers, scientists and entrepreneurs whose work has been carried out primarily in Spain.