“There are not very many other women around.” Anne Glover, the eu’s first scientific advisor, talks to Au Magazine’s chris sutherland
An
ne Glover is one of the University of Aberdeen’s most prized assets. Recognised as one of the “Women of Outstanding Achievements” in 2008, she is an internationally renowned scientist, former Chief Scientific Adviser to the Scottish government and recently appointed Science Advisor to the eu president. We talk to her about her new role, about being a woman in science and a role model and get her view on the future of equality in science. What does a typical day in the diary of the ‘Science Advisor to the EU President’ look like? I have only been in the job for five weeks so there hasn’t been a typical day and I hope there never is! There are a lot of people to meet and the scale of the Commission is quite different to Scottish Government. I’ve had meetings with the President, the President’s Cabinet, the Research Commissioner and her Cabinet, meps, Directors General of key areas such as Research and Innovation, the Joint Research Centre, Agriculture, Environment, national representatives of member states and outside bodies from the European Food Safety Authority to the Federation of 53 National Academies of Sciences and Humanities in 40 European countries. This wasn’t all in one day, however. At the moment I am setting my agenda and I want to find out what concerns people have and how my role can make a difference.
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_i never thought of myself as a woman in science but just as a scientist.
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Does your role allow you to directly impact issues such as gender stereotypes and under-representation of women in science? Yes it does and it is a very important issue for Europe if we are to be globally competitive. Everyone I have raised the issue with so far acknowledges the importance but I don’t see much action being taken. This is an important agenda item for me for the next three years.
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