Polytechnical women scientists unite their voice to bring more women into research

• The Instituto Politécnico Nacional, through the Unidad Politécnica de Gestión con Perspectiva de Género, held the VII Encuentro de Mujeres Científicas del IPN: "Construir entornos libertarios y sororos" (VII Meeting of Women Scientists of the IPN: "Building libertarian and supportive environments"). • According to UNESCO, less than 30% of scientific research personnel in the world are women. • It is of vital importance to promote female scientific references that inspire future generations: Elizabeth Cabrera Chávez.

On International Women's Day, women scientists from the Instituto Politécnico Nacional (IPN) called on the new generations of female students at the middle high school, undergraduate, and postgraduate levels to create solidarity networks that allow them to join research teams, to reduce the gender gap in this sector and develop new knowledge and innovations that improve the quality of life of Mexican society.

This exhortation was made during the VII Meeting of Women Scientists of the IPN: "Building libertarian and sorority environments", which was inaugurated by the Secretary General of the IPN, Carlos Ruiz Cardenas; the Secretary of Research and Postgraduate Studies, Laura Arreola Mendoza, and the General Counsel, Maria de los Angeles Jasso Cisneros.

During the meeting, the director of the Unidad Politécnica de Gestión con Perspectiva de Género (UPGPG), Elizabeth Cabrera Chávez, stated that this space adds to the construction of substantive equality in the institutions of Middle and Higher Education, to promote female referents that inspire future generations to follow in their footsteps in scientific and technological development, especially in the field of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

She stressed that, according to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco), women represent only 35 percent of the total enrollment of students on the planet pursuing careers in science, engineering, and mathematics, and that less than 30 percent of the world's scientific research personnel are women.

The scientist of the Center for Research in Applied Science and Advanced Technology (Cicata) Legaria Unit, Monica Rosalia Jaime Fonseca, invited young women to dare to fulfill their dreams and asked them not to allow anyone to tell them that they cannot achieve a goal.

Rocío Fuentes Valdivieso, an academic at the Escuela Superior de Medicina (ESM), advised those attending to plan their lives and identify the area in which they would like to work because this can be the beginning of new projects. "One should not think that scientific research is fraught with obstacles, but rather that it can be a lot of fun and quite satisfying."

Silvia Ochoa Ayala, a professor and researcher at the Unidad Profesional Interdisciplinaria de Ingeniería y Ciencias Sociales y Administrativas (Upiicsa), said that in many areas of life, breaking with what is given implies work, but fissures open up, then cracks and then the wall that represents the barrier that must be crossed falls: "Science is a beautiful path along which you can travel to build a different future".

Esperanza Lozoya Meza, an academic at the Centro de Investigaciones Económicas, Administrativas y Sociales (Ciecas), said that if their dreams are linked to being scientists, they should fall in love with their object of study and as future researchers of the country and of the Polytechnic they will do well.

The scientist of the Escuela Superior de Física y Matemáticas (ESFM), Isaura Luisa Fuentes Carrera, called on young women to show solidarity to face challenges that arise from the fact that they are women. "Let's raise our voices as sisters; we have to create support networks because solidarity among women is important," she concluded.

Galería de imágenes