University in Chile creates Diversity and Gender Directorate
In May of this year, the Faculty of Physical and Mathematical Sciences at the University of Chile created the Directorate of Diversity and Gender, which aims to ensure gender equality among professors. The idea is to increase the female presence among FCFM faculty in a short time, which is currently at 17%.
The new board is headed by civil engineer and mathematician Salomé Martínez, who on Tuesday, July 31, gave a presentation at the World Meeting for Women in Mathematics, a satellite event of the International Congress of Mathematicians, which begins tomorrow and runs until August 9 at Riocentro.
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A minute of silence is observed in honor of Maryam Mirzakhani.
'Diversity means respecting different mathematical perspectives'
Salomé presented figures showing the low representation of women among professors and students in the various departments of the faculty, especially the Department of Mathematical Engineering, where she teaches. Only 8.3% of full-time professors are women. The presence of female students is 7.4%. The highest representation of female professors is in the Department of Chemical, Biotechnological and Materials Engineering, at 38%. Among female students, the highest proportion is in Industrial Engineering, at 25%.
“Our intention is to generate knowledge about women's participation, with a scientific focus, and not act solely based on personal experiences. We will partner with experts in social sciences, who will help us diagnose and understand the lack of diversity. Chile, like many other countries, has made progress on gender issues, but it is still patriarchal and sexist. Very few women hold leadership positions in large companies and also in universities,” stated the researcher.
Salomé presented the results of a survey showing that, in Chile, 50% of parents expect their sons to pursue careers in STEM fields (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics), while only 16% have the same expectation for their daughters.
The professor gave a lecture entitled "Reaction-Diffusion Equations, Population and Gender Dynamics," where she also presented another line of study she is dedicated to: mathematics applied to ecology, with studies on species growth and interaction.