Noticias
Helping to visibilize the work of women in information technology and computing, and thus contributing to reducing the gap in the area, is the main objective of the Chile Women in Computing (ChileWiC) meeting, which this year returns to face-to-face format. The event will take place in Santiago, in a full day, on Friday, December 16th. It is organized by female academics from the Catholic University, the Federico Santa María Technical University, the University of Chile, and the University of Los Andes. They have the support of NIC Chile, the National Center for Artificial Intelligence (CenIA) and, for the sixth years consecutive, the Millennium Institute for Foundational Research on Data.
“We work in the area and we know that in Chile there are far fewer women than men in computers and related areas. One of the main objectives of ChileWiC is to make visible the first-rate work carried out by women in these disciplines, whether they are academics, students, entrepreneurs, or professionals, among many other roles. In addition, we seek to promote the generation of a community, which is nourished by everyone’s experience and, to achieve this, it is extremely important that we can finally meet again in person,” says Valeria Herskovic, an academic from the Department of Computer Science at the Universidad Católica de Chile, co-director of the Human & Process Research Lab, associate researcher at CenIA, co-founder and steering committee ChileWiC.
In Chile, only 25% of those who enter to study careers in the areas of science, technology, engineering and mathematics are women, and undergraduate graduates in these areas reach only 7%. This is also reflected in the field of scientific research: of the total number of researchers in the country, 35% correspond to women, indicates the study Gender Radiography of the Ministry of Science.
The study that analyzes the gender gap in academia and research, presented by Observa del Ministerio de Ciencia in 2021, also reveals the salary difference in the areas of STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics), reaching 16% of difference between men and women.
“That is why we seek to go further and create a network in which they share their experiences in different areas and, hopefully, remain connected for the future: professionals who work in the industry, for example, provide advice on job search; the entrepreneurs talk about the challenges they have faced, the academics and students show their research and projects”, says Claudia López, ChileWiC’s Steering Committee, an academic in the Department of Computer Science at the Federico Santa María University in Valparaíso and an associate researcher at CenIA.
ChileWiC 2022 will take place in one day, on Friday, December 16th, 2022. The location will be the San Agustín Auditorium of the Catholic University (located in the San Agustín Building, 1st floor, San Joaquín UC Campus, Santiago ).
More information at www.chilewic.cl
