On International Day of Women and Girls in Science, 11 February, we take the opportunity to highlight one of the fantastic women working at Danone Research & Innovation (R&I): Alma Nauta. Having joined the organization 18 years ago, she is now our Senior Director Life Science and Digital Health and she has a vital perspective on being a female scientist in an exciting and ever-changing field.
Alma’s own journey
As a girl growing up in the Netherlands, Alma dreamed of spending her days in the sky – with the goal of becoming a stewardess and wearing a glamorous uniform. She changed her mind when she was around the age of 14. “We had a class on genetics. My biology teacher saw I was super interested and took the time to encourage me,” Alma recalls. “My interest in science was really planted, thanks to him.”
Alma went on to study Bioprocess Engineering at Wageningen University, before moving to Leiden University Medical Center to pursue her PhD and postdoctoral qualification. Encouragingly, she has found the science world to be welcoming to women – from the moment she started her first university course as one of few women in a cohort of more than 60, to her years working across different teams at Danone.
So what drives her? “I really believe in that food can make a difference,” Alma tells us, reflecting on her career researching the science side of nutrition. “Whether it’s in early life, whether it’s in adulthood, whether you’re aging or suffering from certain diseases, it absolutely can make a difference. My deep-seated passion for understanding the intricate relationship between nutrition and health has driven me to explore, research, and innovate in the field. I firmly believe that by harnessing the power of nutrition, we can profoundly impact health and well-being.
“And this job stays interesting! The field keeps advancing. With more advanced technology, with AI, we see different patterns. We can go much deeper. But I don’t think we will ever be done, which is why I find it so exciting as a scientist.”
Gender equality, diversity of thought
One key message of International Day of Women and Girls in Science is that, when women are missing from the scientific world, everybody loses out. “The statistics show that the best-performing businesses are those that embrace diversity,” Alma tells us. “You have different perspectives, different talent, different creativity. And as a society, with all the challenges we face with the climate crisis and so on, we can only benefit from as much participation as possible in finding solutions.”
Considering diversity and female representation at Danone, she adds: “We are a very consumer-facing company, so it’s important that we think as broadly as possible and not be too filtered in our approach. I’ve also had the opportunity to work with some very inspiring female leaders who lead in a really authentic manner, and they’re also generous in sharing their knowledge and experience. What’s also impressive is that they’re vulnerable about the challenges they face, for example in finding the right balance between work life and personal life. That kind of open leadership is so inspiring.”
Now, looking at her 16-year-old daughter who is pursuing her own interest in science, she’s hopeful about the next generation. The teenage girls she sees today wouldn’t question whether girls belong in science, she says: they don’t even think about it as a problem. In the end, “that’s a sign that we’re going in a good direction.”