FIAF Talks
Decoding Gender Bias

A Conversation with Dr. Violetta Zujovic and Alyse Nelson


Moderated by Contessa Brewer

Wednesday, March 15, 2023
7pm
In Person and Livestreamed • In English
FIAF Skyroom



In celebration of Women’s History Month, FIAF welcomes Dr. Violetta Zujovic of the Paris Brain Institute and Alyse Nelson, President of Vital Voices Global Partnership, for a conversation moderated by journalist Contessa Brewer about the science of gender bias and how we can break the cycle of these unconscious prejudices to build a more inclusive and creative society.

As one of the founding members of the Paris Brain Institute Gender Equity Committee, Dr. Zujovic has become a leading figure of raising awareness on gender biases in science. Nelson is the author of the best-selling book Vital Voices: The Power of Women Leading Change Around the World (Assouline) and is a notable speaker on leadership and global women’s issues.

Presented in partnership with the Paris Brain Institute.

Duration: 45-min talk, followed by a Q&A

Dr. Violetta Zujovic

Dr. Violetta Zujovic: After obtaining her PhD of the Paris XII University in Neurosciences in 2001 in the pharmaceutical industry (Sanofi), Violetta Zujovic did her post-doctoral training at the pharmacology department of the University of Florida then a second post-doctoral training at the National Institute of Health and Medical Research (INSERM).

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    • In 2011, she was appointed principal investigator at INSERM and joined the Paris Brain Institute to pursue her research. In 2019, she became the team leader of “Myelin plasticity and regeneration team,” exploring treatment possibilities for Multiple sclerosis (MS). She received the Bouvet Labruyère Fondation de France prize in 2012 and Sanofi innovation award for her projects on Multiple sclerosis in 2018. Violetta Zujovic is one of the founding members and the coordinator of Paris Brain Institute Gender Equity Committee. She has presented many seminars to raise awareness on gender biases in science and co-organized a workshop that gathered world-class international scientists, scholars, and participants to address issues associated with gender biases.

Alyse Nelson

Alyse Nelson is president and CEO of Vital Voices Global Partnership. A cofounder of Vital Voices, Alyse has worked for the organization for more than 25 years, serving as vice president and senior director of programs before assuming her current role in 2009. Under her leadership, Vital Voices has expanded its reach to serve over 20,000 women leaders across 184 countries and territories.

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    • Previously, Alyse served as deputy director of the State Department’s Vital Voices Global Democracy Initiative and worked with the President’s Interagency Council on Women at the White House.

      Alyse is author of the best-selling book Vital Voices: the Power of Women Leading Change Around the World (Assouline) and a regular speaker on leadership and global women’s issues. She has spoken before the United Nations General Assembly, the Clinton Global Initiative, Fortune Most Powerful Women, Oxford Student Union, Women in the World, among others. She has conducted leadership training with women at the Central Intelligence Agency, DFID, the UK Development Agency, Fortune 1000 companies and at numerous conferences.

      Alyse is a Member in the Council on Foreign Relations and serves as an official Observer for the World Bank’s We-fi Initiative for Women Entrepreneurs. She serves on advisory boards for The B Team, Chime for Change and Global Citizen. Fortune Magazine named Alyse one of the 55 Most Influential Women on Twitter and she was featured as one of Newsweek’s 150 Women Shaking the World. Alyse was honored in 2015 with a Tribeca Disruptive Innovation Award and in 2018 Apolitical named her one of the most influential people in global gender policy.