Title: The Meritocracy Myth – A Gender Perspective
Speaker: Maria Fidalgo, LASIGE – DI/FCUL
When: December 2, 14h00
Where: FCUL, room 6.3.27

Abstract: Although the putative advantages of meritocracy have already been refuted by several scientific studies, it is still largely adopted by many individuals and organisations, especially in industrialised countries. In fact, it has been shown that decisions based solely on merit may lead to gender discrimination. In the fourth chapter of her book Invisible Women: Exposing data bias in a world designed for men, Perez reviews the research related to the myth of meritocracy for women at work, with a focus on STEM companies and academia. For this presentation, Maria will present the main findings of the chapter, finishing with some solutions on how to render the workplace less designed only for men.

Bio: Maria Fidalgo is a second year student at the PhD Programme in Informatics of the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon. She holds a master in Data Science and a bachelor in Computer Engineering from the same university. Maria is part of the LaSIGE research lab since the bachelor, when she started investigating web vulnerability detection through Data Science, which is the focus of her doctorate thesis. Besides investigating in software security, Maria considers herself a feminist and an activist. She has cooperated with Girls in ICT events, promoted by the department, and is an active member of OutCiências since the beginning of 2021.