Caliper: Interview with role models – Antonia Kurtela, mag.ing.

As a part of project Caliper an interview was published with Antonia Kurtela Pavlić. The goal of the interview is to promote horizontal principles, equality, and representation of women scientists at the university and their involvement in projects.  

Caliper: Please tell us more about yourself: where were you born and how your environment from childhood affected the person you are today?  

Antonia: My name is Antonia Kurtela Pavlić, I was born in Dubrovnik. As a child from the town near the Sea, and a family where the boat, fishing and the Sea are everything, it is not strange that I am where I am today, and that I am engaged in the research of marine organisms. 

Caliper: What were your favourite school subjects, and did they help you in any way in doing your job today? 

Antonia: My favorite subjects at school were nature and society, biology, and geography. Everything related to nature has always been interesting to me, that is why I continued my education and career in that direction. 

Caliper Did you have any role models in your childhood and if so, how did they inspire you? 

Antonia: My biggest ideals were my parents and my two older sisters. With them, I learned how to follow my dreams and not to give up. They also taught me how to live and use the best of nature, while taking care of it and preserving it. The best examples of that were whole summers of living on a boat, feeding with fresh fish, crabs, shellfish, but also taking care of the Sea, by putting out a plastic bag or bottle, returning the small fish back to the Sea, dive out a piece of metal from the seabed. 

Caliper: What motivated you to choose the career you have today? 

Antonia: My love for animals directed me to the Faculty of Agriculture in Zagreb, and later my love for the Sea and marine organisms led me to the Institute for the Marine and Coastal Research in Dubrovnik. What worries me the most is the pollution of the Sea and nature in general, and the negligence of people, which leads to the loss of many marine organisms. My goal is to make people aware of how much we depend on nature, and that we are obliged to take care of it, this determined the direction in which I want to move in my career. I am satisfied that I can do what I love, and that I can learn from professional people and progress. 

Caliper: Regarding your career – what are you most satisfied with? 

Antonia: I am currently employed on the “HEKTOR” project, where modernization and robotics make work easier, I dare to say, they work better than humans, in certain aspects. And in the meantime, I am also engaged in research related to microplastics, which are increasingly present in the Sea and marine organisms. If I manage, through my work and activities, to make at least 5 people aware, change their habits, and lead them to start taking care of the preservation of the Sea, I will be satisfied. At work I am surrounded by excellent scientists, with a high degree of education, and in my laboratory, there are all male colleagues, but I have never felt different in terms of my gender. 

Caliper: You are currently an assistant at the Institute for the Sea and the Coast of the University of Dubrovnik, can you tell us what pleases/excites you the most in your job, and what is the biggest challenge for you? 

Antonia: The most interesting things to me are the fieldwork, also I like to learn some new things, get acquainted with some new methods of work. Working in the laboratory also makes me happy, the least fun part is when all this data needs to be put together in one work, it is a long and demanding process. 

Caliper: Have you or anyone in your environment experienced gender bias against women working in your field? If so, can you tell us more about it? 

Antonia: At the institute where I work now, luckily, I never felt any gender bias towards women, but there was a unpleasant situation at my last job before I started at the Institute. I worked at the position where I was a manager, and one employee directly told me that he will not cooperate with me because I am the woman. That worker was from Albania, with a different upbringing and customs than ours, but he came to work in Croatia, and I hoped that he would adapt to our culture and behavior. Unfortunately, none of the superiors reacted to his behavior, in the end we still managed to smooth out the situation by talking, although my work was made more difficult because of the whole situation, so in the end I quit my job. 

Caliper: How do you think people should approach topics about gender equality, especially in your field – please specify which field it is? 

Antonia: Such topics are often avoided or pushed under the carpet. I think that there should be more talk about it. Women should know how to stand up and ask for help if they feel inequality. What will help and facilitate them is definite education and expertise in the field of their work. Also, home education, talking about it in schools and colleges is especially important to reduce gender inequality. 

Caliper: What qualities do you consider most useful for someone dealing with discrimination? 

Antonia: Self-respect, persistence, courage. 

Caliper: What advice would you give, especially to young people, who are at the beginning of their career, and who struggle with gender discrimination? How to best deal with such a situation? 

Antonia: Knowledge is power, be the best in your work and always strive for greater success. Sometimes you must stand up, sometimes you must ask for help, and sometimes there is no way out, so it is best to leave, but not before you have done everything in your power. Although I hope that gender discrimination is becoming less common in today’s age, I believe that the most successful is the community that will teach such individuals that discrimination in any form is not supported.