Significant progress has been made during the last decades to achieve gender equality, but there is still much work to do. In particular, the gender gap is pronounced in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields at all levels of education and labour market. In those areas, the women participation remains low, although there are differences from country to country. In the Latin American context, there is a need for carrying out studies to collect quality data about the actual situation of women in STEM. Although some available data show a high proportion of women in Latin American university education, they are a minority in STEM programs. Moreover, this problem is particularly severe in Latin America because of the biases or cultural norms that influence female behaviour. In this context, the W-STEM project seeks to improve strategies and mechanisms for attracting, accessing, and guiding women in Latin America in STEM higher education programs. This work aims to describe the main results to prepare a set of attraction campaigns in secondary schools in the Latin American countries involved in the project (Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Mexico). In particular, a self-assessment tool about gender equality in higher education institutions in Latin America, an interview protocol for female role models, and a mobile application to show those role models.
Resumen-La participación de las mujeres en las áreas de ciencias, tecnología, ingeniería y matemáticas (STEM) en la región de América Latina es un problema muy complejo en el que necesariamente se requieren acciones de diferentes actores, como los gobiernos, el sector privado y las familias, así como los diferentes niveles de educación (desde la infancia hasta la educación superior). En este contexto, las instituciones de educación superior deben centrarse en aquellas necesidades y situaciones en las que tienen cierta influencia para lograr un progreso real, como el bajo número de mujeres que cursan estudios STEM o la falta de puentes entre la política pública y las acciones institucionales. El proyecto Building the future of Latin America: engaging women into STEM (W-STEM) tiene como objetivo mejorar las estrategias y los mecanismos de atracción, acceso y orientación de las mujeres en los programas de educación superior STEM en América Latina. El presente trabajo presenta las principales acciones enmarcadas dentro del proyecto y los primeros resultados centrados en la visibilidad de la mujer en áreas STEM.
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