Breathe
By Graciela Rojas
Since the conceptualization of the STEM+ Movement, we have sought to have affirmative actions in all our programs to level the playing field between men and women in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.
The STEM Talent Award is no exception, and today I am very proud to see that these actions are working. It is about integrating a gender perspective in what you do to build the substantive equality that the planet needs.
We took care of this perspective from the launching to the awards ceremony, so that women would feel part of this contest and today we see the results.
The Award gives visibility to both STEM teachers and young people who seek to change their environment through STEM fields. It is important to note that most of the participants were women who showed their talent to change the world.
For the category of teachers, 2,856 applications were received, 54% of which were from women. In the case of the student category, out of 1,449 applicants, 55% were women. At the National Finalists stage (after having received two evaluations, one from our platform and the other from a group of experts), we found that in the teachers' category, 7 out of 10 finalists were women and in the students' category, 8 out of 10 finalists were also women.
Collaboration between men and women in these fields is fundamental if we really want to generate innovation and make the transformation that our country needs.
With the results obtained, we corroborate that implementing tangible and intentional actions to achieve substantive equality are effective because women feel part of it and become involved, participate and lead projects in traditionally masculinized areas.
There is still a long way to go, but it should be noted that applications were received from all over the country. The states with the highest participation in the category of teachers were: State of Mexico, Mexico City, Veracruz, Guanajuato and Tamaulipas and in the category of students were: Jalisco, Mexico City, Guanajuato, Yucatan and Oaxaca.
The fruits of this initiative are inspiring, the winners Angela Olazarán (student) and Erika Rodríguez (teacher) have stories of overcoming challenges, commitment and love for their communities.
Their entire trajectory is what made them worthy of the award, but I would like to highlight Angela's interest in the health care of her community by creating a medical assistant based on Artificial Intelligence called "Ixtlilton", which presents solutions and alternatives for remote medical diagnoses, a solution designed for people living in remote communities with little access to medical centers. Erika has created several projects for the care of the environment with her students with which she has developed solutions for cleaning the beaches in her community and strategies to generate renewable energy to produce electricity in an area where power failures are constant.
Female talent in STEM is a reality in our country. Women are increasingly discovering their power and are ready to contribute in all areas of our society.
You can read their stories by clicking here.
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