How is Skills for Prosperity defying gender stereotypes around STEM careers in Mexico?
Undoubtedly, technology, engineering, science and mathematics (STEM) have shaped the world as we know it. They will keep fuelling innovation and defining the job market of tomorrow. However, not everyone is reaping the fruits. In Mexico, women are largely underrepresented in STEM fields as only 38% of female students are enrolled in a programme related to these areas. Moreover, only 9% of girls at early stages of education say that they want to pursue careers in these sectors. But why?
When we asked professors and students that participate in the Skills for Prosperity (S4P) programme in Mexico, they pointed to gender stereotypes that wrongly suggest that men perform better in STEM fields, discouraging women to compete.
The issue of girls’ and women’s underrepresentation in STEM careers is multi-pronged and, as such, we have designed different roadmaps to address it, each tailored to target different groups, from girls and young women to their parents and teachers, through to society at large.
A multi-pronged approach to tackle gender barriers
Changing minds
Raising awareness in order to change minds is the first step we have taken to dispel stereotypes around women’s participation in STEM. It is no easy feat as these are deeply rooted in society and transmitted to young people, men and women alike.
In order to trigger change, in 2021, as part of S4P, DAI in partnership with International Youth Foundation (IYF) and PepsiCo Foundation, launched a campaign on online media, radio and print to point out that “Vocation has no gender”.
The campaign, which aimed to encourage young women to pursue “non-traditional” or STEM careers, saw successful women in these sectors join as role models for girls. The campaign targeted 15,000 girls as well as their families and friends, as they may reinforce gender stereotypes and prevent young women from studying or working in these sectors. It was rolled out in the Mexican state of Jalisco and will be replicated in other S4P priority states this year, to reach even more female students.
Changing institutions
Putting baseless gender perceptions in the spotlight is only the first step to prepare the ground for sustainable change. In Mexico, S4P has also been building the capacity of the TVET schools that participate in the programme, so that current and future students enjoy inclusive education. This ranges from getting advice when making career decisions or looking for their first job, to learning and working in environments that are free of gender-based discrimination.
Specifically, we have been training professors and administrative staff in education institutions as well as leadership teams in companies so they can identify rules and practices that may hinder gender equality. Through a series of courses, they have been learning how to avoid gender-biased language, create equal opportunities for work-based learning, help graduates develop employability skills, and balance women’s participation in leadership positions.
“I am an engineer and only two women finished the programme in my generation”, recalls Mary Romero, Academic Director at the High Technology Training Centre CENALTEC in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua State. “Everyone asks you: why do you want to study Engineering and not an administrative career? They say that you will end up working only with men. After school, it was challenging to get a job because they do not trust you for being a woman and you face verbal bullying. In CENALTEC, we have achieved the goal of having 50% of female students enrolled in technical tracks like metal mechanics. Now they invite other women to join technical education. Necessary changes have been done in the last couple of years, but Skills for Prosperity Mexico helped us a lot in the past one. They helped us fulfil what we were planning. Someone had to come and trigger this cognitive change.”
Next steps
While we will continue to deliver the activities mentioned to change minds and institutions, in March 2022, S4P will also roll out a mentoring programme, which we will pilot in the Autonomous University of Chihuahua (UACH). The aim is to encourage women to complete their STEM undergraduate studies and inspire them to pursue a specialisation in these fields. S4P will also establish a support network that will involve women professionals in STEM and will assign them to final-year female engineering students so they can act as their mentors.
“Inclusive education is the first step to creating better equality conditions at schools, workplaces, and homes”, explains Elisa Lavore, Gender and Social Inclusion Lead at S4P Mexico. “Education with no stereotypes allows more girls and women to balance their participation in STEM. Education empowers marginalised people, those with disabilities, and indigenous communities to break down barriers that hinder their prosperity.”
The jobs of the future will largely be in STEM sectors, which will play a significant role in driving countries’ prosperity. If half of the world’s population doesn’t get a fair shot, this will be a missed opportunity not just for them, but for economies at large.
