Talks
On June 18, 2026, Dr. Isabel Torres delivered a public lecture at Café des Citoyens in Montpellier, France, on motherhood in STEMM and the impact of parenthood on academic careers. The talk explored maternity bias and the challenges facing mothers in academia, followed by an open discussion with members of the public on fostering more inclusive environments for caregivers in research and higher education.
On June 2nd, 2026, our Founder/CEO, Dr. Isabel Torres, delivered a seminar at the Institut Pasteur in Paris, France, as part of the first anniversary celebration of the Pasteur Parenting Collective. During her talk, she presented research on the impact of parenthood on academic careers, highlighting maternity bias, caregiving stigma, and the structural barriers faced by caregivers in STEMM.
Dr. Isabel Torres spoke at the inaugural conference of the Women in Neuroscience (WiN) Network at the University of Liverpool on May 15th, 2026, where she led a workshop on motherhood in neuroscience, showing real examples of biases and stigma faced by scientist mothers. After the workshop, she joined fellow speakers on a panel discussion to explore the challenges of balancing academic careers with parenthood.
IOCB Prague - Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences
On March 9th 2026, our Founder/CEO, Dr Isabel Torres, visited IOCB Prague to present a seminar and lead discussions on improving support for caregiver researchers in STEMM. The visit brought together HR leaders, research staff and students to explore barriers facing researhers with caregiver responsibilities, especially mothers, and discuss institutional policies and shared efforts to increase caregiver equity and inclusion.
Dr. Isabel Torres led a workshop at the American College of Veterinary Pathologists (ACVP) Annual Meeting, held October 25–28, 2025, in New Orleans, USA, hosted by the Women in Pathology Affinity Group. The session explored research on the motherhood penalty, examined how bias and caregiving stigma appear in everyday professional environments, and engaged participants through discussion and role-play scenarios.
On September 11, 2025, Dr Isabel Torres delivered a talk at the EPSRC Robotics and Autonomous Systems (UK-RAS) 2025 Network Showcase. This impactful talk raised awareness of the barriers facing caregivers in STEMM, especially mothers, and sparked engaging discussions within the robotics research community.
On September 10, 2025, Dr. Isabel Torres spoke at the Department of Chemistry at the University of Warwick, UK, and met with researchers and group leaders to discuss the challenges parents and caregivers experience in academia, and strategies and solutions to support their career progression and increase retention.
Society of Spanish Researchers in the United Kingdom (SRUK/CERU)
On June 5, 2025, Dr. Isabel Torres has the honor of sharing research as a workshop leader at the 12th Symposium of the Society of Spanish Researchers in the United Kingdom (SRUK/CERU). This in-person event was held in York, UK, and centered on the theme “Facing Challenges” in academic research.
On May 27, 2025, in celebration of Mothers’ Day, co-founder/CEO Dr. Isabel Torres joing the Young European Federation of Immunological Societies (yEFIS) Improving Academia Working Group. This virtual webinar tackled challenging questions on how parenthood impact career progression in STEMM, followed by an interactive Q&A session.
Dr. Isabel Torres presented a webinar at BioMarin (USA) discussing the challenges facing mothers and caregivers working in the STEMM sector on March 18, 2025. This was followed by an interactive Q&A session with Biomarin employees.
University of Manchester - UOM Parents, Career & Guardians Network and Women @ Manchester
On January 24, 2025, our Founder/CEO Dr. Isabel Torres spoke at the University of Manchester. in her talk, she shared research by Mothers in Science on the impact of parenthood on career progression in STEMM and discussed institutional policies and strategies to support researchers with caregiving responsibilities.
MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences (LMS)
On January 21, 2025, Dr. Isabel Torres presented a seminar at the MCR Laboratory of Medical Sciences in London, UK. She shared research on how structural barriers and stigma disproportionately impact mothers in STEMM and discuss the biases and stigma facing caregivers in academia.
Istanbul Development Dialogues 2024
In October 2024, Mothers in Science co-founder/CEO Dr. Isabel Torres spoke at this UNDP and OECD conference on Investing for Gender Equality and Inclusive Climate Action. She contributed to key discussions on reshaping the care economy and advancing gender-responsive climate action ahead of COP29. It was an inspiring dialogue, with Dr. Torres sharing the stage with global leaders, policymakers, and advocates.
European Astronomical Society’s Annual Meeting
In July 2024, Mothers in Science co-founder/CEO Dr. Isabel Torres spoke in a special session on diversity in academia. The session fostered collaboration among European astronomical societies to advance equality and drive systemic change. It was inspiring to see strong engagement and a real openness to progress in this historically male-dominated field.
UK Research Institutions | Cambridge, University College London, Oxford
In April 2024, Dr. Isabel Torres, Founder and CEO of Mothers in Science, delivered a series of impactful seminars at top UK institutions, including the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, University College London, and the UKRI National Quantum Computing Institute in Oxford. These talks focused on the systemic barriers mothers and caregivers face in STEMM fields. Through community-building, research, and advocacy, Mothers in Science continues to lead a powerful global movement, mobilizing change and promoting a more inclusive and supportive STEMM landscape.
Delft Women in Science (DEWIS)
On 26 February 2024, Isabel Torres, our co-founder and CEO, led an eye-opening session exploring the realities of the STEMM leaky pipeline. Busting myths and sharing undeniable facts, she shed light on the invisible barriers that often divert mothers in STEMM from their careers, and explained why parenthood should be at the heart of discussions and interventions to close the gender gap in STEMM.
CareerRopeUp | Women in Science
Working behind the scenes, our team continues to advocate for mothers in STEMM. In January 2024, our founder Isabel Torres had the pleasure of sharing the research of Mothers in Science and moderating an excellent discussion at the CareerRopeUp webinar series organised at Lubeck University (Germany).
NWO Insight Out | Connecting Women in STEM
Our founder, Isabel Torres, was keynote speaker at the NWO Insight Out event on November 9, 2023. This event provides an opportunity for women to meet others, learn and inspire each other across organizational boundaries and career stages. She discussed the invisible barriers that push mothers in STEM away from their career track and explained why motherhood should be at the center of discussions and interventions to close the gender gap in STEM.
STEM4ALL International Day of the Girl event
Mothers in Science proudly supported a mentoring session at a fantastic online event hosted by our partner UNDPEurasia STEM4ALL on October 11, 2023. This interactive mentoring session created space for students and young professionals to engage directly with accomplished women STEM professionals, including our founder and CEO Isabel Torres, all in honor of #InternationalDayoftheGirl.
Societies Consortium on Sexual Harassment in STEMM Annual Meeting
Our founder, Isabel Torres, moderated a session at the annual Societies Consortium Hybrid Convening on September 19, 2023. She highlighted challenges faced by mothers in STEMM, such as lack of nursing facilities, maternity bias and discrimination and access to affordable childcare. Then all participants brainstormed solutions for making the STEMM sector more inclusive for caregivers and the role science societies can have in supporting mothers.
Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing
Isabel Torres, our co-founder/CEO, spoke at the on July 6, 2023, in Berlin, Germany. The event for PhD students was themed "Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Science" and it included talks on neurodivergence, gender bias, strategies to promote diversity and inclusion.
LinkedIn Chat: Caring for Caregivers & Parents in STEM Fields
Our team members Ahana Maitra and Martta Liukkonen participated in a LinkedIn Chat event on December 8, 2022, organised by the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB) to discuss resources for parents and the challenges of managing a family and a scientific career.
Isabel Torres, our co-founder/CEO, was an invited speaker at the Gender Summit Europe on October, 28, 2022. The session was organised by Falling Walls Female Talent Scheme to discuss barriers and potential solutions to advancing early career stage women researchers, and other speakers included Karin Rehak-Nitsche (Robert Bosch Stiftung) and Geneviève Almouzni (European Research Council).
Isabel Torres was keynote speaker at the @FlipPhysics conference on March 22, 2022 in Alicante, Spain. The session ‘Physics and Maternity’ aimed to discuss the impact of motherhood on the careers of female scientists. Isabel shared the preliminary results from our pre-pandemic global survey and discussed the systemics barriers facing mothers in STEMM identified in the survey.
IPGP Seminar Series “Égalité, Diversité et Inclusion”
Isabel Torres was an invited speaker at the Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris (IPGP) in Paris, on February 24, 2022. In her talk, Isabel spoke about the maternal wall and why motherhood stereotypes and maternity bias need to be at the center of discussions and interventions to close the gender gap in STEMM.
Femmes & Sciences “Power Lunch” Seminars
Isabel Torres was an invited speaker at the Centre National de Recherche Scientifique in Montpellier on January 27, 2022. After her talk discussing the systemic barriers pushing mothers away from their STEMM careers, a dynamic discussion continued among the attendees.
In this webinar for members of the Association for Women in Science (AWIS), Isabel Torres discussed the invisible structural barriers that silently push women in STEMM away from their career track and explained why motherhood should be at the center of conversations to promote gender equity in STEMM.
Isabel Torres was among an amazing lineup of speakers at the Mental health INternationally Delivering Support (MINDS) 2021 Conference on September 23, 2021 to discuss the importance of mental health and the specific challenges of an academic career for young researchers, and especially those with caregiving responsibilities.
Freda Were Foundation Conference
Isabel Torres was keynote speaker at this special conference on "The impact of COVID-19 restrictions on girls pursuing STEM subjects” organised by the Freda Were Foundation, a nonprofit organisation based in Uganda that aims to empower and encourage girls and young women to pursue STEM careers.
For the International Day of Women and Girls in Science on February 11, 2022, the Parc de Recerca Biomèdica de Barcelona (PRBB) organised a roundtable with a fantastic lineup of guests. Our co-founder/CEO was invited to chair this event and to speak about the systemic barriers that hinder the career development parents in science.
Isabel Torres was an invited speaker at a special session of the annual conference of the International Society of Biomechanics in Sports (ISBS) to share the preliminary results from our global survey and discuss the systemic barriers facing mothers in STEM.
