Building the future of Latin America: Engaging women into STEM

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Building the future of Latin America: engaging women into STEM Funding: European Union. ERASMUS + Capacity-building in Higher Education Call for proposals EAC/A05/2017 Project type: European Coordinator: University of Salamanca Project leader: Francisco J. García Peñalvo Partners: Universidad del Norte Oulu University Politecnico di Torino Technological University Dublin Nothern Regional College Tecnológico de Monterrey Universidad de Guadalajara Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso Universidad Tecnológica de Bolívar Instituto Tecnológico de Costa Rica Universidad de Costa Rica Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja Universidad Técnica del Norte Reference: 598923-EPP-1-2018-1-ES-EPPKA2-CBHE-JP Time: 15/01/2019 to 14/01/2022 Budget: 862.268€ Abstract: The participation of Women in STEM in the Latin-America region is a very complex problem in which necessarily call for actions from different actors, such as governments, private sector, families, as well the different levels of education (since childhood to higher education). In order to make concrete contribution, Higher Education Institutions need to focus on those needs and situations in which it has certain influence for making real progress, such as: Significant minority of Women choose and access to STEM programs at tertiary level. The lowest rates appears in science and engineering programs. Data is scarce, showing a need for analytical and systematic methods, which reflect actual participation of women in STEM at HEIs. Tertiary studies with a high math component such as STEM seem to be excluded from the studies options by girls in secondary schools. Lack of bridges between public policy and institutional actions led by HEIs. In this way, and aligned to the Erasmus + Capacity Building priority for improving management and operation of higher education, in terms of access to and democratization of Higher Education, the W‐STEM Project aims at Improving strategies and mechanisms of attraction, access and guidance of Women in Latin-American STEM Higher Education programs. For achieving this main objective, W-STEM project, will Measure the gender equality in enrolment and retention rates in STEM programs. Implement Universities’ policies, strategies and organizational mechanisms for improving attraction, access and guidance at undergraduate levels in STEM programs. Promote STEM studies vocation and choice in girls and young women in secondary schools as well as guidance in the first year of the STEM program. Develop an online training package for Higher Education Institutions to implement effective strategies to enhance attraction, access and guidance of Women in STEM programs.

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Author: search.filters.author.González-González, C. S.Subject: search.filters.subject.gender gap

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    A Case Study in Brazil and Spain about the Students’ Perception of the Gender Gap in Computing
    (Tempus Publication, 2022-05-28) García-Holgado, A.; González-González, C. S.; Frango Silveira, I.
    Foster diversity and inclusion are part of the strategic actions of public and private organizations. Some of these actions are focused on increasing the representation of historically underrepresented groups and investing in creating a culture where all employees can reach their potential. Moreover, there are sectors in which the lack of inclusive environments is more critical. In particular, in the engineering and technology sectors, there is a lack of diversity related to gender and race. This problem is present in all worldwide regions, despite vary from one to another. Regarding the gender gap, governments and organizations put their efforts into reducing it in engineering and technology through actions mainly focused on engaging more women into these areas, avoiding dropping out during STEM studies, and joining the labor market. In this context, we have developed a project to mainstream gender within this framework and foster diversity in computer engineering studies. The project has two main objectives: prepare students to introduce diversity and inclusion as part of the software development processes; and build work environments that follow the principles of diversity and inclusion. In order to improve the actions related to both objectives, this study collects the perception of students regarding the gender gap in computer engineering studies to answer two questions: R1 – What kind of support do computer engineering students have before starting their university studies?; R2 – Are there differences between the perception of the students in Brazil and Spain related to the social, academic, and professional context? The results show that almost half of the participants had not received any support before studying Computer Engineering. On the other hand, mothers are the principal support in both countries. Finally, the results show that Spanish participants have more awareness of the lack of women in the engineering and technological sector and the need to work on this issue.
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    Strategies to introduce gender perspective in Engineering studies: a proposal based on selfdiagnosis
    (IEEE, 2020-04-27) González-González, C. S.; García-Holgado, A.; García-Peñalvo, F. J.
    Gender inequality in STEM careers is a global problem and avoid bias in education can be a solution. This paper presents a framework for inclusion of gender perspective in engineering courses. The methodology followed in its design was divided into two phases: the developed of different educational innovation projects and a co-creation workshop. Several instruments have been created and validated, such as questionnaires, canvas model and rubrics. The framework includes elements such as the self-diagnosis and redefinition of curriculum, conte