- The technology and engineering company partners with the University of Deusto's Inspira STEAM project to promote female talent in STEAM areas from an early age.
- ABB professionals will lead groups of young people in educational centers in the Basque Country, serving as mentors and addressing any limitations they may have regarding these areas.
ABB, a global leader in technology and engineering, has joined the Inspira STEAM project created by the University of Deusto with the aim of promoting girls' and young women's interest in STEAM areas (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics). Through this project, the company seeks to address the lack of female representation in technical and scientific careers, eliminating gender stereotypes, while promoting diversity in these fields.
The company's participation in the project has been led by the team at ABB's factory in Trapagaran, with four employees serving as mentors: 3 female mentors and 1 male mentor. Itziar Machado, Procurement & Logistics Manager at ABB and mentor of the Inspira STEAM program, explains that: "We want to demonstrate that there are no limits to what women can achieve in these disciplines. This project provides a space where girls and young women feel empowered to explore and pursue their interests in STEAM without gender restrictions."
The project consists of several awareness and guidance sessions delivered by professionals. These experts voluntarily conduct talks and activities in various educational centers in the Basque Country periodically throughout the school year. Prior to this, these individuals have been trained by the University of Deusto to lead these sessions and provide guidance to the young participants. The sessions take place during school hours and focus on raising awareness about STEAM sciences and the daily lives of different professions within these sectors, as well as addressing gender stereotypes in the workplace, among other issues.
Each mentor regularly reviews and shares the impressions, questions, and observations that arise during the sessions with the other professionals involved in the project. Based on this, they draw conclusions that summarize the perceptions of girls and boys in the Basque Country regarding their interest in STEAM careers. These extracted conclusions are fundamental to understanding a trend identified in the Gender Gap Radiography in STEAM Education prepared by the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training, which reveals that female participation in Middle Grade in Computing and Communication has experienced a significant decrease over the years, dropping from 23.5% in the 2003-2004 academic year to 7.03% in the 2019-2020 academic year.
Through this project, the company aims to empower girls and boys and promote their interest in STEAM areas from an early age, intervening at stages prior to the establishment of gender differences in the workplace.
For more information about the Inspira STEAM Project, visit the project's website.
