With regards to International Women’s Day 2022, with the theme of “Break Prejudice” and the purpose of encouraging people to challenge prejudice, discrimination and gender stereotypes, a webinar was held that pointed to the apparent “underrepresentation” of women in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics), which limits their ability to find inclusive and sustainable solutions to current problems and to build a better society for all.
In the European Union, only 29% of graduates with a doctorate in engineering, manufacturing and construction are women. And in Costa Rica women represent only 25% of professionals who work independently in technical professions such as science, engineering or information and communication technologies. These findings started discussions about how men can address these issues.
To reduce the gender gap in technology it is suggested that companies should always consider gender equality a must and not an extra. For example, our thoughts and actions must change from “should we give women flexibility during their pregnancy and in other matters?” to “how can we facilitate flexibility for women?”. Also urging governments, the private sector and universities to cooperate for increasing female participation.
Seeds for the Future
And example of this is “Seeds for the Future”, a Corporate Social Responsibility program, which was also popular with the webinar audience. The Seeds for the Future program offers students an opportunity to learn more about Asian culture and innovative technology.
