GenderInSITE-Elsevier Foundation workshop brings a gender perspective to science and technology in higher education
On April 21 and 22, fourteen international experts in gender mainstreaming in higher education gathered in Buenos Aires for a GenderInSITE and Elsevier Foundation workshop on “Integration of gender perspectives in science and technology in higher education: Contributions to the advancement of the SDGs.” Organized by Gloria Bonder, the GenderInSITE regional focal point for Latin America and the Caribbean, the workshop invited participants to share their expertise and lessons learned from existing efforts to incorporate gender in STEM curricula and institutional practices.
The participants represented a wide variety of international perspectives, and all agreed that approaches to gender mainstreaming in universities and other research institutions must be considered in the local context; however, there were several recommendations that could facilitate better gender integration across the board, including the inclusion of gender equality as a factor in the calculation of university rankings. There was a prevalent feeling, moreover, that enacting gender equality policies will not be enough without transforming the way that gender is conceptualized within institutions; reassessing the definitions and assumptions behind what is meant by gender equality will lead to more transformative and sustainable change.
For more from the workshop, see the summary published on Elsevier Connect.