In Peru, women represent 47.5% of engineering graduates

Gender equality is still a distant reality, but the participation of women has grown among those who get the diploma

Did you know that, according to a UNESCO Scientific Report published in February 2022, only 33% of scientific researchers in the world are women? But in the case of Peru, they account for 47.5% of engineering graduates across the country, a number that approaches half of all graduates, according to the report.

Although gender equality still has a long way to go in different sectors of Peruvian society, it is noted that the participation of women has been significant in the scientific field. In the field of studies, the net female enrollment rate in higher education has a lower percentage: it increased between 2005-2016; however, for 2016, of the 32.9% of students enrolled in careers related to Science and Technology, only 29.2% correspond to women.

There are several factors that push this statistic down. Often, due to sexist ideas, some institutions think that, if they hire women, they will ask for maternity leave, authorizations or other things that they perceive as negative or that somehow affect work performance.

Bettit Salvá, an engineer in the food industry and vice-rector of Le Cordon Bleu University, highlighted in the Business Empresarial Portal that in Peru there are many prejudices and it is believed that women should only dedicate themselves to taking care of the house, when this work should be shared.

However, according to him, many people and entities want to promote the participation of girls and women in the fields of science, technology and engineering. There are companies encouraging the participation of girls in schools so that they become more interested in these careers, study and have greater representation.

Women who compete in projects are also awarded, for example, if there is gender equality in the teams, they receive more points, and the same if the leader is a woman. The main idea is to increase female participation in the field of science and innovation.

Bettit adds to Business Empresarial that he has supervised more than 30 undergraduate and graduate theses, with 90% of his thesis students being women and only 10% being men. Many are mothers who want to continue studying and seeking market share.

By: Santelmo Camilo