In the world, only 35% of women choose a science and technology career

Laura Poy and Carolina Gomez

Newspaper La Jornada
Friday, February 11, 2022, p. eleven

In Mexico and the world, only 35 percent of those who study university degrees related to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM, for its acronym in English) are women. The global average percentage of female researchers in these fields, according to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco), is 29.3 percent.

UN-Women points out that only 3 percent of Nobel prizes in science have been awarded to women, while 22 percent of professionals in artificial intelligence belong to this gender. The difference is greatest in machine learning, an area in which only 12 percent are women.

I studied electronic engineering, a career with a lot of mathematics, an area in which I have always considered myself suitable. The first day of classes there were about 50 men and only three students. After four years we graduated 27, of which two were womensays Teresa, 38, who today holds an executive position in one of the largest telecommunications companies in the country.

On the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, Teresa narrates to the day that sexist comments from teachers and classmates were common, but that gave me strength. My first job was in the oil sector. The labor challenge was great, but the social one was even more so. Being in a mainly male world made it my goal to show them why I did deserve a place among them. There I began to be a technology translator, that is, to transform field work into indicators that gave value to the organization.

The family, an important factor

Hilda Cristina Mares, a mechatronics graduate from the Interdisciplinary Professional Unit in Engineering and Advanced Technologies of the National Polytechnic Institute, states: “Those of us who opt for a STEM career are warriors. We are attracted to really complex problems and the ability to resist. Although they tell us ‘it’s very difficult, it’s a lot of mathematics, it’s a man’s world’, we don’t care. We are passionate about it”.

He assures that the most important thing to promote a vocation in STEM disciplines is the family. I call on the parents and relatives of girls and adolescents, who are the ones who detect their abilities and talents before anyone else, to encourage their aptitudes. It is essential that they believe in themselves and in their potential.

Data from the National Institute of Statistics and Geography reveal that of the 752 thousand people employed in information and communication technologies in Mexico, only 17.1 percent are women. Of these, eight out of 10 do not have managerial positions.

The same is true in the mining and electricity industries, where only 18 percent of workers are women. The Network of Women in Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency points out that 92 percent of the highest authority positions are held by men and 8 percent by experts.

The National Institute for Women indicates that 95 percent of Mexican girls do not consider a career related to STEM disciplines because From a young age, the message is transmitted to them that they are not as capable as boys for these fields, which means that fewer women have these specializations..

Teresa remembers that the path to decision-making positions was difficult: Little by little I specialized. I managed projects, I studied a master’s degree, I got certified in different areas of technology and project management; I showed my industry that I was capable. Today I am project manager in a leading telecommunications companyhe affirms with satisfaction.