WOMEN IN SCIENCE IN THE DIGIWELL PROJECT: NUMBERS, STORIES AND DIFFERENT PATHS TO KNOWLEDGE
The DigiWELL project currently involves 78 female researchers, who make up approximately one third of all scientists engaged in the project. They come from six countries and represent a broad range of disciplines – from psychology and behavioural sciences to education and public health. This diversity is not merely a statistical fact, but one of the key prerequisites for high-quality research on digital wellbeing.
Behind these numbers, however, are real people. Two of them – Prof. Sylvie Graf from the Institute of Psychology of the Czech Academy of Sciences and Dr. Marcela Ely from the Faculty of Education, University of Ostrava – offer different yet complementary perspectives on what it means to be a woman scientist today. On the occasion of the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, celebrated on 11 February, they reflect on their professional journeys and motivations.
SCIENCE AS AN ONGOING SEARCH
For Prof. Sylvie Graf, the decision to “become a scientist” was not a single moment. Rather, her path has been a natural continuation of a long-term search for answers: “After submitting my master’s thesis, I felt I had more questions to answer than at the beginning. The same was true during my doctoral studies and later while working on research projects,” she says.
“Science is an adventurous and fulfilling – though sometimes frustrating – path to knowledge for me.”
She therefore does not perceive science as a title or a career milestone, but as a continually evolving process. “So I did not decide to become a scientist, but to continue a fascinating search for answers to questions that occupy me,” she explains. This perspective is also reflected in her understanding of the nature of scientific work. According to her, science is a path that brings both satisfaction and doubt. “Science is an adventurous and fulfilling, though sometimes frustrating, path to knowledge,” she adds.
FROM WORKING WITH PEOPLE TO BEHAVIOURAL SCIENCE
A completely different, yet equally inspiring path to science is described by Dr. Marcela Ely. Her professional trajectory was not academically defined from the beginning, and she came to science later in her career. A key role was played by her many years of community-based work in the United Kingdom, where she focused on prevention and health promotion.
“My path to science was neither straightforward nor predetermined. However, critical thinking and the effort to understand things in depth have accompanied me since childhood,” she says. For her, science does not represent a departure from practice but a way of giving it meaningful structure. “After returning to the Czech Republic, I began looking for a way to build on my experience in a meaningful and systematic way. Science became the framework that allowed me to give my practical experience structure and direction.”
In her work in a behavioural laboratory, she focuses on understanding human behaviour in relation to health, especially physical activity. She emphasises that health-promoting behaviour is not merely a matter of awareness or willpower. “People often know what is good for them, but the reality of everyday life is more complex,” Marcela Ely adds.
Here she sees the contribution of behavioural science, which works with context, motivation and everyday human experience. Interdisciplinary collaboration also plays an important role for her. “I see great strength in interdisciplinary cooperation. The diversity of perspectives, experiences and approaches allows us to ask deeper questions and search for sustainable solutions in the long term,” she explains.
SHARED VALUES AND IMPORTANCE FOR SOCIETY
Although the professional paths of the two scientists differ, they share a similar understanding of the role of science in society. For both, science is not an isolated academic discipline but a tool that affects people’s everyday lives.
Marcela Ely sees science as one of the fundamental pillars of contemporary society: “Scientific knowledge permeates everyday life and provides a basis for informed decision-making by individuals and society as a whole,” she says. She also emphasises its importance in an era of increasing information and misinformation.
“Thanks to science, we can better understand relationships and causes, better respond to global challenges and develop critical thinking,” Marcela Ely concludes. The broader societal significance of science is also highlighted by Sylvie Graf: “Science is the most reliable method for finding answers to the questions that occupy humankind,” the professor adds.
These values – the search for answers, working with uncertainty, emphasis on societal impact and openness to different perspectives – also form the basic framework of research in the DigiWELL project.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
On the occasion of the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, we would like to thank all female researchers who are part of the DigiWELL project. Through their expertise, experience and everyday work, they contribute to understanding digital wellbeing and to seeking solutions that are meaningful for individuals as well as for society as a whole. Women in science are not a separate chapter in DigiWELL – they are an integral part of the research team and its shared effort to pursue high-quality, responsible and socially relevant research.
You can also listen to podcasts with our female scientists and collaborators:
