Fabiana Turelli invited to the first international meeting of the Women’s Research Network.
Fabiana Turelli, an assistant professor with the Faculty of Kinesiology and Recreation Management, is travelling to Puebla, Mexico, in November 2024 to meet with other researchers and share her work at the first international meeting of the Red de Mujeres Científicas (Women’s Research Network).
“I am very happy to have been selected,” says Turelli. “It’s an opportunity for many of us to celebrate our work and being together in person for the first time.”
Turelli has been a guest editor with the Red de Mujeres Científicas and helped develop the fledgling organization. The network promotes, stimulates and supports women's visible participation in research across a broad spectrum.
“We cover an umbrella of areas across many different universities across Canada, the United States and the Global South,” says Turelli. “Much of the research centres on feminist studies and perspectives.”
Turelli says the event is a great chance to empower women researchers and “put more strength into the community.” While Turelli feels supported by the faculty, many researchers worldwide, particularly in underrepresented areas, aren’t as lucky.
Turelli, originally from Brazil, has competed in the sport since she was a child and obtained her black belt when she was 17. She says sharing her own stories of struggling in the sport, often not being taken seriously by her male counterparts, touched many women.
Turelli says many of the struggles she saw in karate are reflected in the experiences of researchers worldwide. One of the main goals of the network is to connect with researchers in often underrepresented countries.
One barrier that researchers from other countries face is language, says Turelli. She says researchers are often expected to speak English and publish in English. While she understands the need for a common language to make sharing work easier, she’d like to see more space for translation to help break down those language barriers.
“Respecting other languages and making an effort across both sides is important,” says Turelli. “If one side isn’t reaching out it can contribute to the oppression of certain people and their work.”
Turelli says language is just one aspect amongst many, like gender, pay and even location, that lead to a perceived underrepresentation of women in the field.
“People see women not being at these major events and believe that because they are not there, they are not good enough to be there,” she says. “No, they are good. We just aren’t providing [women] the means to be there.”
For Turelli that’s why the international meeting, which will be carried out in Spanish, is so exciting. She says it is more than just an opportunity to share research; it’s about creating a space for many unheard researchers to share their voices with a community that understands them.
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