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News | 27 February 2020

Interview with UNESCO: Girls’ and women’s engagement in STEM education and careers in Latin America

The coordinator of the GenderInSITE Regional Focal Point for Latin America and the Caribbean, Gloria Bonder, was interviewed by UNESCO about girls’ and women’s engagement in STEM education and careers in Latin America in advance of the International Day for Girls and Women in Science.

In the interview she noted that in Latin America, 45% of the region’s researchers are women, exceeding the global rate of 28%, but still there is need of change, especially to counter stereotypes and gender bias in culture and curricula. She emphasised the need to work with teachers to implement gender-sensitive STEM education: this is a focus for the work of the GenderInSITE Regional Focal Point.

She ended with the following advice for girls around the world:

It is your right to choose what you want to study and how you want to develop your career and lead your life. But this means also an important challenge: do not to adapt to "the way things are". Be attentive to gender stereotypes and overt and subtle discriminatory social practices. Build networks with your colleagues and contribute to changing the status quo.

You can read more about GenderInSITE's work in Latin America and the Caribbean at https://catunescomujer.org/gisalc/.