Specialists deliver their recommendations to encourage curiosity and critical thinking from an early age.
In cutting-edge fields such as artificial intelligence, only one in five professionals (22%) is a woman. And it is that, always, in the area of science, great scientific and historical advances have been taught from the male perspective, however, currently, “the role of women has gained great strength and recognition in society, for which reason that it is essential that in schools and colleges we encourage girls and young people in this field, because they are great factors of change with innovative ideas that must be promoted”, declares Elma Araya, Head of the Science Department of the Manquecura Valle Lo Campino School .
Claudia Álvarez, in charge of the Science department of the Pumahue de Chicureo school, complements: “the sciences have no gender distinction; They are universal, but in the case of girls, it is advisable to work on them based on what happens to us as women to generate motivation and put them in situations to be resolved, rather than recipients of content”. For this, the teacher gives some examples: research on how contraceptive methods were generated, how the morning after pill, tampons or sanitary towels were created. “Making visible the place of women scientists is fundamental. It has been proven that girls’ interest in science and technology doubles when they have female references”.
So, how to encourage and motivate our girls to be interested in the scientific area? The data indicates that the so-called STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) careers do not seem to be very attractive for young women. And, even though the scientific vocation at the age of 15 is low in general, boys triple their intention to study science than girls.
Gender bias, lack of self-confidence, socially constructed messages, the glass ceiling, among many others, are the answers. “From the parents’ perspective, we must promote curiosity, encouraging research and reading,” explains the teacher at the Manquecura school, and gives an excellent example: “every time they ask us why something is happening, answer them: let’s look for a answer together, let’s find out, tell them a magical story that involves deep and critical thoughts, so they don’t get the feeling that looking for answers is a nuisance, but on the contrary, it is always good to reinforce curiosity, which unfortunately is lost as we we grow”, points.
Creating a stimulating scientific environment seems to be the answer. As? Ivonne Fernández, Chemistry teacher at the Pumahue school in Temuco, gives us some tips for the remainder of this vacation, because, after all, the important thing is to have fun!
- Find tutorials on YouTube on experiments related to the properties of water or the use of dyes and other household materials.
- Draw the natural environment, the universe, the microscopic world and how they imagine it.
- Read biographies and books about women scientists, or watch research and technology films. Listen to scientific podcasts.
- Take them to museums, talks, workshops and exhibitions.
- Encourage scientific games, such as building blocks, circuits and wires, programming
- A highly recommended board game is Kürruf, similar to Monopoly, but set in the Huilo Huilo Biological Reserve. It helps to understand the interactions between species, generating learning and awareness regarding biodiversity.
Despite skills shortages in most technological fields driving the Fourth Industrial Revolution, women still account for only 28% of engineering graduates and 40% of computer science graduates, and it is the task of All school communities reverse those paradigms.