The meeting will be held on the CILAC Forum YouTube channel on March 16
In our changing technological world, Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) are often seen as the jobs of the future, driving innovation, social well-being, inclusive growth and sustainable development. However, it is estimated that only 1 woman for every 4 men obtains a job in STEM fields, contributing to greater economic inequality in society.
Despite efforts to reduce gender gaps in STEM areas, gaps still exist at different levels of education and professional development in almost all countries in the world. In Latin America and the Caribbean, for its part, inequalities remain in many countries in the region. The reasons for this inequity are multiple and complex, from pedagogical insufficiencies to stigmatizing cultural resistance.
Important plans to balance the presence of women in the equal equation in STEM fields often do not yield the results expected of them, or the absence of relevant, accurate and updated information systems does not allow adequate monitoring and institutional learning. . Combined with these factors, institutional strategies that facilitate this perspective require greater transparency and renewed instruments.
In recent years, with strong inspiration from the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the British Council has placed emphasis on programs that promote gender equality. In alliance with international organizations such as UNESCO, the British Council has developed initiatives that bring to the fore the unbalanced gender equation in the STEM field.
Within this framework, in collaboration with Technopolis, in 2020 an in-depth study was carried out on the state of the art of the participation of women and girls in STEM fields in Latin America and the Caribbean. Its main findings have been published in a Policy Paper presented at the Latin American and Caribbean Open Science Forum (CILAC) 2021: An unbalanced equation: increasing participation of women in STEM in LAC.
In this next virtual meeting, the findings and recommendations of this Policy Paper will be presented, through the testimonies of its authors Alessandro Bello and María Elina Estébanez, with the presence of representatives of the British Council and UNESCO.
March 16 – 5 p.m. (URU/ARG)