UNAM celebrates the International Day of Women and Girls in Science

Marking International Day of Women and Girls in Science, Scheduled for February 11 United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural OrganizationAlthough STEM fields indicate that 33.3% of the world's researchers and only 35% of students in professions related to these fields are women.

And to commemorate this history Institute of Nuclear Sciences (ICN) of UNAMIt carried out – for the fifth year in a row – a series of previous activities that included talks with scientists who shared their work in research, in addition to workshops, conferences and visits to laboratories, an activity that mainly targets girls and young men in secondary school. school. .

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In addition, a competition awards ceremony was held Tell us about your favorite world of 2023Where minors spoke via video, comic story, infographic, or any other means about the women of science whom they considered to be their authorities.

Meanwhile, ICN Director said, Maria del Pilar Carrion CastroHe stated that science has no gender and there is no reason for women to be left out. ““In this field, in technology, engineering and mathematics, there are no activities reserved for men or women, but rather they are problems that humans can solve.”claimed.

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“Therefore, every time a girl or young woman is prevented from devoting herself to these fields, hands and brains that can work in concert with men are lost, and talents and contributions to the development and advancement of knowledge are lost.”Carrion Castro noted.

Women face inequality in science and research

According to the United Nations, women tend to receive more modest research grants than their male counterparts, and represent only 12% of members of the National Academies of Sciences. In cutting-edge fields such as artificial intelligence, only one in five professionals (22%) is a woman.

However, women have proven their brilliance in this field, as 24 women have so far won the Nobel Prize in one of the scientific disciplines: physics, chemistry, physiology, or medicine.

Carrion Castro explained that to increase its presence in STEM, we must start with the concept that girls and adolescent girls have of themselves. “The person we must convince first is the one in front of the mirror,” he noted. “You have to see yourself and tell yourself that you are capable, and that you can, if you want, devote yourself to any scientific specialty.”

Although he reiterated that this is not enough, it is not enough, as it is necessary to work in a triad that includes teachers and parents, because they are often the ones who believe that their daughters cannot devote themselves to that activity or have the relevant role.

Given this situation, the director emphasized that the gap is still very wide, and although the female presence in science is certainly increasing, some stereotypes and prejudices still exist, and we as a society must eliminate them.

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