Let no one tell you that being a scientist is not a women’s job

Iris Anethe Andrade Vázquez is 19 years old. She is currently studying the fourth quarter of her Veterinary degree at the University of her municipality, in Xicotepec, in the Mexican state of Puebla.

Since she was little, she detected a special taste for medicine and, especially, for animals. However, as in many places in Mexico, she grew up with marked machismo within her family, whose members limited her dreams.

She ignored those who told her that this was not a career for a woman and, thanks to their insistence and a series of tools she learned in high school, she decided to prove to herself that she could be the veterinarian of her community.

A long way

Iris tells UN News that it was a long road that she had to cross to choose her profession. A path that began when in his school participated in a program launched by the Municipal Government and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).

“It helped me to see gender equality because many cousins ​​​​told me that this career was very heavy, that it is a job more for men, that who knows if I was going to endure. (They were) always putting that in the middle. (But) if at school they are telling me that the same thing that men do, women can do, why not? Apart from the fact that it is something that I like and am passionate about. Being on that show helped me a lot to figure out and figure out what I liked best,” she said.

Mentality change

At 19 years old, Iris is convinced that the mentality in society about the ability of women to carry out the same activities as men must be changed.

As in many cases, she is an example. Thanks to the UN plan, focused on the empowerment of women in the field of science, technology, engineering and mathematics, Iris managed to change her mentality and that of her family.

“Must be change that mentality that women are delicate and we cannot do heavy things; yes we can do them. We need gender equality. The program is very cool because it makes young people open to new experiences and opinions, whoever they are. In addition, the fact that women are in science, technology and mathematics can be further developed,” said Iris.

She considers that there is still a long way to go. In her opinion, this type of program should start with younger girls and boys, so that from their childhood they grow up with a gender perspective, “since machismo is instilled from growth”.

Give the necessary tools

Cynthia Martínez, a UNDP official in Mexico, recalled that in 2007 work began with youth from a social development and inclusion approach.

The objective is to give them the necessary tools to have a path in their lives and thus get access to better jobs or to develop in the field that they decide.

Based on various experiences, it was decided to put the layer of gender equality and social inclusion for the students. From there arose, with the help of (PEMEX), the creation of the toolbox ‘For a Mexico with more women scientists, engineers and mathematicians‘.

The toolbox seeks to contribute to the training process of young people in favor of gender equality. The objective is to achieve a critical perspective on the influence of gender in the world of science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

This perspective adds to efforts to build an inclusive society established in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) of the 2030 Agenda.

The materials in this box recognize the ability of youth to lead processes towards a society that values ​​diversity and takes advantage of and respects their differences, with dignified and sustainable lifestyles; they also recognize solidarity coexistence as essential to achieve a society where gender is not a condition of exclusion.

The toolbox contains:

• A practical guide for tutoring and career guidance staff. It includes an introduction to key issues to understand the relationship of gender in the world of science careers, the relevance of the educational process on the subject, and suggestions for operating the same toolbox.
• A file. 11 components are proposed and explained for a training in favor of gender equality in science careers at the baccalaureate level and a work sheet is presented for each component.
• Recommendations for schools. Some recommendations are indicated so that schools promote a culture that favors gender equality and eliminates practices of exclusion and discrimination.

According to Cynthia Martínez, once this toolbox was implemented, a project with two large components was created.

The first: working with more young women in engineering, science and mathematics, in four states of the country: Puebla, Veracruz, Yucatán and Mexico City with the aim of providing them with preparation and accompaniment for two and a half years.

The second component is focused on economic development at the local level based on the inclusion of women producers in an entrepreneurship process, in which learn to generate more sustainable business modelsin addition to linking them with students who are approaching science careers, so that these young people can learn about their experience.

“The intervention that is complementary is very broad and quite long. The aim is to bring them closer to the sciences and these disciplines, in such a way that the young women can broaden their outlook for growth and those experiences that may be useful in their life career or where they want to prioritize training or work activities with a component of local development”, explains Cynthia Martínez.

There are also men on the show.but the work with them is done from the perspective of the new masculinities and so that they understand how they can be inclusive and empathetic with what women live today in terms of inequality.

In Xicotepec, an intersectoral plan was initiated to design and implement initiatives that strengthen the capacities of young women in science careers.

Integration into the curriculum

After the first experience with PEMEX, the Zurich Foundation also participated in this process having an important role in the development of the strategy.

Cynthia Martínez explained that the goal is for the toolbox to be able to be part of the curriculum of any public and private institution, which is why UNDP and Zurich are seeking alliances with both municipal and state governments, as well as with the Federal through the Ministry of Education.

“Our intention is to gradually develop the strategy, so that it can have this federal scope. What we want is to measure this intervention to exemplify the relevance and measure what are the transformative changes in the communities. The intention is that we can leave all this strategy available to all secondary education superior in Mexico.”

Positive results in Xicotepec

On the other hand, to verify the results of this strategy, the UNDP and the municipality of Xicotepec carry out an intersectoral work plan in favor of the equality of women in science careers.

The plan is made up of four strategic themes and 30 activities, including: workshops, practices, meetings and mentoring, classroom resources, dissemination and institutional strengthening, aimed at:

• Increase women’s access to training opportunities and hands-on experiences in science careers
• Develop inter-school projects, with a gender and community development approach
• Promote safe and violence-free learning environments
• Strengthen inter-institutional articulation to address gender inequalities in science careers

Lupita Vargas, municipal president of Xicotepec, tells UN News that this is a municipality in the Sierra de Puebla with social, cultural, economic and political difficulties.

When he came to manage it, he found a great difference between the circumstances that girls and boys liveand young people around the possibilities of continuing or not with their studies.

“When we spoke with the United Nations Program, they raised the possibility of implementing this toolbox. We observed that we could influence two important issues in this City Council: the first, inequality gaps; the second, (…) violence against women, ”he recalls.

The mayoress explained that it began with a first intervention in 28 high schools that resulted in a very clear reality regarding the environments in which women develop at this educational level.

In the second stage, a two-year collaboration was proposed, where it would be possible, in addition to developing the toolbox, to strengthen support networks in the community for young womenand offer them all the necessary empowerment to make the decision to study this type of career.

“In the case of the objectives, we were very clear about what we wanted to achieve in the school community, which in 2019 we did not measure and now we do, was the impact it had on their family nucleus, because finally the impact of this also allowed them to many of them visualize the inequalities that exist in their immediate surroundings”, pointed out Lupita Vargas.

Xicotepec Municipality

Lupita Vargas, mayoress of Xicotepec, Puebla talks about the benefits of implementing the toolbox in her municipality.

break stereotypes

“This type of program They serve a lot to break gender roles and stereotypes, mainly in the communities. This opportunity not only serves to make women aware of the possibilities they have, but also of what can be achieved with the family nucleus. We have grown with the target population with this method,” she adds.

According to the mayoress, local governments have the opportunity to generate these changes on a daily basis, so she ensures that it is necessary to bet on public policies that have clear and measurable strategies, methodologies, guidelines and objectives, which gives them the opportunity to improve in areas that are essential.

“For us, the opportune pretext that the United Nations put on the table was to promote women in science careers, but indirectly we are working on one of the biggest challenges in Mexico, which is gender violence,” he concludes. .

This report has been produced by Primavera Diaz for UN News