The STEM Women Association is born to reduce the gender gap in science and technology

Women and girls continue to face barriers and prejudices in pursuing scientific and technological fields. Closing the gender gap in these areas requires inspiring vocations linked to this field from childhood, as well as giving visibility to new female role models, promoting and connecting initiatives, and seeking innovative solutions for equality. With these objectives, professionals have come together to create the STEM Women Association (SWA), with the purpose of combating the gender gap in science and technology.

The entity, which is born linked to the STEM Women Congress, aims to promote diversity and equal access to talent in the field of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). "Technological transformation is key to progress, but we cannot advance by leaving female talent behind," claims Mas Porras, president of the association.

Porras, awarded the Dona TIC 2022 Prize as Best Communicator, also presides over the STEM Women Congress, which has been working for six years for gender equality in the sector by connecting companies and initiatives to measure the impact of female positioning in the STEM environment. The congress, which has been held in cities such as Madrid, Lisbon, Toronto, and São Paulo, goes beyond the event, and promotes programs such as STEM Tour, which brings workshops to Spanish rural schools to foster scientific and technological vocations among girls.

Now, the initiative is reinforced with the creation of the association, which reaffirms its commitment to transforming the STEM landscape in favor of equality. With this objective, SWA will promote concrete actions to inspire and empower women in the STEM field, based on the conviction that "the gender gap in these sectors is not just a challenge, but an opportunity to build a more equitable and innovative future," according to the vice president of the association, industrial engineer and Innovation Director of Watterga, Esther Izquierdo. And, as Porras defends, SWA aims for "no girl, young woman, or woman to feel that these areas are not for her."