Abstract:

Global Women’s Breakfast (GWB) is an initiative of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC), aiming to give women scientists, from all over the world, the opportunity to know each other, communicate virtually and share their experiences.

Instituto Superior de Engenharia do Porto (ISEP), Laboratório Associado REQUIMTE-LAQV and (Grupo de Reação e Análises Químicas (GRAQ) joined these initiatives since 2019. Each of these events had a different theme.

In 2019 (12nd February), the event “IUPAC100 Global Women's Breakfast Empowering Women in Chemistry: The Global Networking Event” celebrated the 150th anniversary of the first publication of the Periodic System of Elements by Dmitri Mendeleev and the IUPAC 100th anniversary.

The women’s researchers of ISEP/REQUIMTE-LAQV/GRAQ organized this meeting breakfast where it was possible to participate in live streaming sessions to various parts of the world. On 12nd February 2020, the initiative focused on “Building Bonds to Create Future Leaders” to establish a permanent virtual network of contacts where women participants could connect in a meaningful way.

Despite the Covid-19 pandemic, on 9th February 2021 women scientists organized, more than 320 virtual breakfasts worldwide, exceeding previous editions. The theme “Empowering Diversity in Science” was the slogan launched by IUPAC. The Portuguese Chemical Society joined the GWB. The last GWB (16th February 2022), due to the pandemic situation also took place in a virtual way, focused on the same topic “Empowering Diversity in Science”.

These networking events involving students, young researchers, and scientists, allowed the interventions of Portuguese women scientists, in the GWB as a means to expose experiences, support their professional aspirations, development of leadership skills, and establish new international collaborations.

Keywords:

Global Women’s Breakfast, women scientists, international collaborations, networks.