By Dr. Elizabeth Troncoso Ahués
Director of Academic Development of the Academic Vice-Rector’s Office
Metropolitan Technological University.
The fight to incorporate the gender perspective into the international public agenda has gained greater relevance since the IV World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995, organized by the UN. There, foundations are laid for the planning and implementation of mechanisms for the search and promotion of gender equality on a global scale.
Since the promulgation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, various social entities – especially feminist movements, international organizations, governments, civil society organizations and academia – have joined forces to raise various public policies and affirmative actions with gender approach to improve equality of conditions and opportunities for women.
In 2015, the UN ratified its commitment in the matter by establishing, within the Sustainable Development Goals for 2030, objective 5 of Gender Equality. Thus, it emphasizes the importance of undertaking affirmative actions to ensure this fundamental right for women, so that they can have decent work, occupy leadership positions in the political, social and labor dimension, in addition to having equal access to all rights. health services and educational levels.
In this challenge, Higher Education is called to support public policies for mainstreaming the gender perspective in its institutions. It is not in vain that UNESCO – with the support of its International Institute for Higher Education in Latin America and the Caribbean (IESALC) – declared in 2016 the need for “inclusive, quality education and lifelong learning for “all” for the sustainable development of society and to contribute to the improvement of higher education in the region.
We well know that Chile has joined these efforts in some way. Their higher education institutions (HEIs) more frequently make available mechanisms to increase the presence of women at this educational level in their different instances. This is promoted by organizations such as the Ministry of Education, CRUCH and CUECH or – even – by the National Accreditation Commission (CNA), which for the quality assurance processes of Chilean universities requires a regulatory framework on gender equity, diversity and inclusion as a criterion in their evaluations.
Added to the above is the 2021 gender policy promoted by the Ministry of Science, Technology, Knowledge and Innovation, which establishes four objectives: Inclusive, protected childhood with skills for the future; Inclusive, transformative and responsible CTCI systems; A State committed to data, instruments and policies for gender equality in CTCI; and Science, Technology, Knowledge and Innovation to resolve the impacts of the gender gap in our society.
The question that comes now
Without a doubt, in Chile the different strategies have given results. Today we have various diagnoses of gender relations and equity in HEIs and in the Science, Technology, Knowledge and Innovation (CTCI) system that – regardless of their depth and critical analysis – serve to manage some figures of the state of the situation. The protocols for the eradication of gender violence are also growing in number and scope.
The different instruments deployed in HEIs to increase income in historically masculinized careers – with emphasis on STEM areas (an acronym in English that refers to Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, that is, Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) have provided effect. In addition, the instruments that promote gender parity in human teams or women’s leadership in R&D projects have been increased and diversified.
Examples are where being a woman grants an additional bonus in a final score when evaluating a proposal or being a woman helps in tie-breaking. Also, the granting of scholarships that base the selection on an equitable distribution between women and men with differentiated cut-off scores, while still valuing academic excellence and other criteria. Along with this, we are looking forward to what happens -finally- with the InES Gender instruments and their real impact to reduce gaps in research, development, innovation and entrepreneurship in HEIs.
In this way, if we look at the global panorama today – but remembering the past – we could be complacent with ourselves. We have reached agreements, we have built policies and plans, we have deployed actions that have given certain results.
The question that comes now – meanwhile – is, is what has been achieved sufficient evidence that the integration of women into professional life, with emphasis on the scientific environment, allows them to develop fully and under the same opportunities and equal circumstances? than their counterparts? This is the challenge that Chile faces today. Let us hope that the commemoration of the International Day of Women and Girls in Science will encourage reflection on what we really need to do now, more than refining writing or sharpening the pencil to count figures.
#Chimbarongo #prepares
