Initiatives promoting gender equality in STEM

Initiatives promoting gender equality in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) for secondary-school students in Uruguay and Spain over the past decade. This social sciences study focuses on public policy and analyses initiatives implemented in both countries during that period. It identifies key components for understanding their design, implementation and evaluation. The analysis draws on three conceptual categories: STEM policies, gender equality policies and youth. The research uses a collective case study approach, examining four initiatives per country through interviews with organisers, participants and specialists, documentary analysis and analysis of institutional communications. Both Uruguay and Spain have political and institutional frameworks that can serve as references for initiatives promoting gender equality in STEM. However, the initiatives studied are dispersed and are not embedded in public policies. They also depend heavily on the work of particular individuals and have limited institutionalisation. Overall, they address gender inequalities in STEM as a problem of young women’s access to these fields, without a systemic view of the different social actors involved, and use similar strategies despite operating in different contexts.