Taking stock of diversity at ESA for International Women’s Day

Gender diversity is high on ESA’s agenda with one key objective being to get girls interested in science, technology, engineering or maths (STEM) from a young age, and to inspire more women to pursue careers in the space sector. We aim to encourage more women to apply for jobs at ESA and, once recruited, to support women at all levels of the organisation. International Women’s Day, celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women, seemed like the perfect opportunity to ask two of our colleagues involved in these efforts to elaborate on what ESA is doing. 

Ersilia Vaudo Scarpetta has worked at ESA since 1991 in several positions, including  in strategy and international relations. She has been ESA Chief Diversity Officer since 2017, supporting the Director General in proposing actions that enhance ESA’s diversity and inclusiveness and ensuring that these values and objectives are integrated into policies and business practices.

Florence Loustalot has worked in HR at ESA since 1993. As Talent Acquisition Specialist, she brings the HR perspective to the implementation of these matters and works closely with Ersilia.

Ersilia, what is ESA doing to encourage gender-balanced representation?

In recent years, ESA has taken actions to promote  gender-balanced representation, particularly in engineering and scientific fields and at management level. Proactive measures and measurable goals have been taken to increase recruitment and representation of women and important progress has been achieved as a result of these efforts.

And to bolster internal measures supporting gender equality, we’ve undertaken an EDGE (Economic Dividends for Gender Equality) assessment and certification process. Following thorough analysis and evaluation of ESA’s achievements and measures for gender balance, ESA was certified by an independent auditor in 2021 and has committed to defining and implementing a detailed action plan to further reinforce its engagement in creating a diverse and gender-equal workplace.

Furthermore, ESA’s commitment to diversity and inclusiveness has received heightened international recognition in recent months, demonstrating the growing visibility of these values. In particular, the International Astronautical Federation has selected ESA as the 2020 winner of its prestigious Excellence in “3G” Diversity Award, for exceptional engagement towards diversity.

Florence, your team seeks to attract and develop a diverse pool of talent. How do you encourage women to apply for jobs at ESA?

Our job is to make sure that all potential candidates from ESA’s Member States are aware of ESA and its career opportunities. To encourage applications from suitable candidates, particularly from women, we run recruitment campaigns to raise awareness among women in STEM and take part in workshops and relevant careers events. In the coming months, for example, our team will attend Women&Work on 29 May and Women in Tech on 3 June.

Within our Entry-Level Programmes, we’ve introduced an allocation which has allowed us to increase the number of women recruited as Young Graduate Trainees (YGT) and Research Fellows and our outreach efforts for the 2021 YGT recruitment campaign resulted in a 28% increase in applications from women this year.

We are currently working on a ‘Junior Professional Programme’ for professionals with 2 to 3 years’ work experience in industry, to increase highly skilled profiles in ESA while also striving for balance across the 'three Gs': gender, geography and generation. We believe it is crucial to develop initiatives to encourage women to apply at an early stage of their career.

And last but not least, we make sure we offer a family-friendly and attractive environment, with flexible working arrangements and childcare support.

Ersilia, how does ESA encourage girls to pursue studies in STEM? 

ESA's Education Office is engaged in promoting interest in science and technology among young Europeans with a series of activities designed for specific age groups. As part of this engagement with younger generations, we have partnered with Mattel in support of the Barbie’s Dream Gap Project, encouraging girls to pursue careers in STEM fields. And there are also many initiatives at local establishment level involving female colleagues in technical and scientific jobs: participation in Girls’ Day at ESOC and cooperation with the STEM Talent Girl Programme at ESAC, where women developing their professional careers encourage female students to follow university studies in STEM areas. ESA also contributes to the Women4STEM Daring Circle of the Women’s Forum for the Economy and Society, which aims to increase the representation, leadership and impact of women with STEM skills at all stages of the pipeline from school to boardroom, and to highlight the strong connection between STEM skills, access to jobs and the potential for positive societal impact.

Florence, 44% of ESA staff will retire in the next decade. What kinds of opportunities will be coming as a result?

This gives us a unique opportunity to attract talent while  strengthening diversity within our workforce. Competence comes first and we want to reach out to all skilled professionals who are nationals of ESA’s Member States while particularly encouraging women and young professionals to apply to ESA.

People who come to ESA are highly motivated by the work they do and by our multicultural environment. They are enthusiastic and passionate, united by the common goal of the peaceful exploration of space and the benefits this can bring to everyone.

Of course, we always need engineers and scientists. For instance, we have a particular need for engineers in navigation and GNSS in the near future. But we also need people with a background in IT and cybersecurity and we mustn’t forget business services, such as HR, legal, finance, project control and facility management. Professionals from a wide range of areas all play a part in ESA’s success!

Ersilia, Florence,  what would be your advice to someone who would like to apply?

Ersilia: Don’t hesitate to pursue a career in STEM and apply for ESA jobs – both offer the excitement and emotion of discovery, while contributing to addressing tomorrow’s global challenges including climate change mitigation, food security, and poverty reduction.

Florence: ESA is a fantastic, friendly and enriching environment; wherever you are based and whatever your field of expertise, you will work with colleagues from all over Europe and will often also have the opportunity to discover a new host country. So don’t hesitate, if you see a job vacancy which you feel matches your profile, go for it and send us your application! 

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