On International Day of Women and Girls in Science (February 11), CXI TUL is launching a new community project aimed at connecting women in science through shared experiences and mutual inspiration. It is based on a simple but powerful principle: one book, twelve female scientists, and twelve voices over the course of a year.
The book Invisible Women in Science (by Pavla Hubálková, 2025) will travel among twelve female scientists at CXI TUL, who will symbolically pass it on to each other every month, along with a handwritten notebook. This is not a competition, award, or evaluation of individuals. The project is conceived as a chain of sharing, in which each participant contributes her perspective, experience, or idea.
„We wanted to create a space that would not be based on comparing performance, but on mutual inspiration and sharing. In science, not only some work remains invisible, but also experiences, emotions, or forms of support that are essential,“ explains project initiator Eva Doležalová.
The traveling book includes a section with two open-ended questions, which each scientist answers in her own way. The third part of the section is dedicated to a message for the next scientist in the chain. These messages are not advice or mentoring from above, but rather a quiet dialogue between women across disciplines, generations, and experiences.
The project is based on voluntariness and trust. Participants are not selected on the basis of the best results, but as women who, through their work and approach, help shape the scientific environment. Diversity is important – both in terms of field and career.
After a year, the responses and messages will be compiled into a collection of twelve authentic voices, offering a unique perspective on what it means to be a woman in science today. The output can serve not only as inspiration for other female scientists, but also as a basis for discussion about the working conditions of women in research and academia.
The project builds on international efforts to support women in science, but deliberately chooses a community and process-based format instead of one-off awards. As experience from foreign universities shows, it is long-term and participatory initiatives that have the greatest impact on institutional culture. We believe that this project will also be an innovative contribution to our institutional culture.
The project was symbolically opened by Magda Nechanická, who became the first holder of the traveling book Invisible Women in Science and started a year-long chain of sharing among women in science. Along with the book, she also received a notebook with questions, in which she will write her answers and a message for the next female scientist in line.
„It should not remain invisible where the system does not work equally for everyone—not to give anyone an advantage, but to give everyone an equal chance to succeed. Women in science do not need special treatment, but equal conditions, equal expectations, and equal recognition for equal work,“ says Magda Nechanická in response to the question of what she believes should not remain invisible in the lives of women in science today.
After a month, Magda will pass the book and notebook on to another woman of her choice. This will gradually create a collection of twelve voices that together offer an authentic view of what it means to be a woman in science today.
