Empowering Young Women in the Caribbean Region in Stem

Abstract

Although the participation of women in the different stages of society has increased, there are still sectors where the presence of women is meager, and the visibility of their contributions to society still much lower. The confinement due to the Covid19 pandemic has only made this reality even more visible. Some studies indicate that by increasing empowering women and girls in settings where they are a minority, economic and social benefits are also obtained. The W-STEM project aims to increase women’s participation in STEM disciplines. The paper presents preliminary results of a diagnosis of different STEM programs at one university in Colombia. Results show that seven STEM programs have low female enrolment. Therefore, the paper presents various activities developed to motivate young women to enroll in STEM programs. The activities were open to all interested students, showing that 47% of women participated in the activities. Thus, these processes empower women by providing information and inclusion in spaces to acquire new knowledge and skills.