Toward Gender Equity in Scientific Activity: Challenges and Achievements

The talk entitled, “Towards Gender Equity in Scientific Activity: Challenges and Achievements of the Academia Mexicana de Ciencias (AMC),” concerns the way, fifty years after its founding, our organization has promoted efforts to achieve gender equity and parity in Mexico’s scientific activity as a condition for ensuring the progress of our disciplines and society in the 21st century.
It describes the actions carried out by AMC to promote projects undertaken by women researchers in traditionally male fields, and to develop mechanisms that will ensure the equitable presence of women in hierarchical positions in science and technology institutions, academic events, evaluation organizations and review boards. It also details its efforts to promote the analysis of the organization of scientific work and equal opportunities and possibilities of development for both genders and to ensure that science and technology institutions provide services that encourage the permanence and development of their women researchers and childcare services, among others.

It explains the importance for AMC of undertaking continuous dissemination and awareness campaigns with three main objectives:  a) publicize the contribution to science of outstanding Mexican women; b) reverse the gender stereotypes that distort women’s intellectual and academic capacities or make them invisible and c) encourage girls and young women and make them aware of scientific knowledge and science degrees as an option for their personal development and fulfillment.
The paper highlights the need to analyze teaching materials and educational texts to prevent, detect and eradicate the configuration of sexual stereotypes during children’s school years and to design and implement distance learning programs with a gender perspective, focusing on issues of particular interest for women. It stresses the need to promote the commitment by all Latin American states to establishing science and technology policies and programs with a gender perspective and to ensure that national and regional scientific and technological information systems draw up indicators and produce relevant data based on men and women’s different forms of participation in science and technology.

The talk also provides information on this Academy’s experience during the current administration, directed by a woman for the first time ever. It analyzes the possible measures for female inclusion in both the academies themselves and the spheres of government related to the development of science and technology.

In order to illustrate the AMC’s potential for promoting gender equity, as well as its key role in female inclusion and valuation in the Mexican scientific sphere, the talk ends with an explanation of the link between the Academy and government and its interaction with the media, education and the general public.  Lastly, it underlines the importance of its active involvement with international organizations.