To create a new science

“It wasn’t the university institution that made me a feminist, but rather theoretical sociological reflection,” Spanish researcher María Ángeles Durán stated this in an interview with CLACSO TV during the ALAS Congress in Peru in November 2019.

The first woman to receive the National Sociology Prize in her country, Durán spoke about the difficulties she faced, not so much in her university years but once she graduated. "That's when I realized that sociology only had founding fathers, it didn't have founding mothers."

Interviewed by Gustavo Lema

With reference to the changes that have taken place in Spain at the level of education, María Ángeles Durán recalled that there was a time when certain careers were off-limits to women. “When I was studying law, it was still difficult to become a judge or ambassador. First came the mass entry of women into secondary education, and then into university education. When you have women in front of you who have a higher level of education than men, it becomes very difficult to continue denying that they have the capacity to think for themselves. But all science needs to be rethought, because the problem isn't accessing classrooms or positions as rectors or deans; the problem is creating new science, and that's where our innovation can be very important.”