{"id":161821,"date":"2024-04-25T14:27:11","date_gmt":"2024-04-25T20:27:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tecscience.tec.mx\/en\/?p=161821"},"modified":"2024-04-30T17:27:28","modified_gmt":"2024-04-30T23:27:28","slug":"girls-in-science","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tecscience.tec.mx\/en\/human-social\/girls-in-science\/","title":{"rendered":"What Inspired Them as Girls To Pursue a Career in Science? These Researchers Share Their Stories"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Seeing a woman in spaces stereotypically occupied by men is motivation enough for many girls and young women who want to pursue a career in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics <\/strong>(STEM).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Within STEM, UN Women<\/a> recognizes that the most male-dominated educational areas are Information and Communication Technologies<\/strong> (ICT) and Engineering<\/strong>, areas where female enrollment is less than 30%; a low number considering that women also hold less than 25% of positions in other industry areas <\/strong>such as Artificial Intelligence<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Researchers from the School of Engineering and Sciences at Tec de Monterrey, Marilena Antunes<\/strong> <\/a>(Researcher in the Healthy Food Unit at the Institute for Obesity Research IOR<\/a>), Mariana Franco<\/strong><\/a> (Postdoctoral Researcher focused in Microalgae Production), Karla Mayolo-Deloisa<\/strong> <\/a>(Professor-Researcher in the Bioengineering and Medical Devices Unit within the IOR), Anayansi Escalante<\/strong><\/a> <\/strong>(Professor-Researcher) and Mirna A. Gonz\u00e1lez <\/strong><\/a>(Professor-Researcher at the School of Medicine and Health Sciences<\/a>) open the dialogue about their approach to technological careers, mentoring the upcoming generations and the importance of forging networks amongst women in these disciplines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Seeing the newer generations of women enter these fields is very inspiring. In the words of a student of mine: Being able to see that a woman has already made it and is currently working in the position that I aspire to reach is motivating,<\/strong> because then you know it is possible to do it,” shared Mirna.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\r\n \r\n \"\"\r\n <\/picture>
According to UN Women, engineering is still seen as an activity for men only. (Illustration: Blair Frame)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Curiosity, Experimentation and Family Support<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Having a persistent sense of curiosity from an early age <\/strong>was a vital element in their approach to what would eventually become their disciplines of study, this in addition to the support from their close family members, the researchers agreed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Karla’s case, the path was always oriented towards a career in Science and Technology. She recalls seeing the flasks, the test tubes and realizing from that small approach that her dreams<\/strong> were held in technological labs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“When I think about what inspired me to be a woman in Science and Technology, I<\/strong> remember my high school years, when we started going into the labs and I fell in love with them<\/strong>. I was also inspired by seeing a female teacher who worked at the labs a lot,” said Marilena.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mirna and Anayansi emphasize that, along with curiosity, having family members involved in Science encouraged them to pursue this occupation<\/strong> instead of rejecting it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Something that impacted me deeply as a child were the science fairs, the typical experiments with light bulbs or erupting volcanoes. I remember an uncle inviting me to his lab to experiment with different samples for my project <\/strong>and from there I didn’t stop,” said Mirna.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is estimated that nine out of 10 girls between the ages of six and eight associate engineering with masculine skills<\/strong>, thus, the researchers recognize the importance of having had other women<\/a> as key influences during their careers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“My mom inspired me greatly<\/strong> when I started out like the rest of my family in the health field, as a nutritionist. Later on I realized that if I was going to do the same thing for the next 30 years of my life, it would be something more challenging like Food Engineering<\/strong>,” Anayansi recalled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n