Inspiring Stories: a series of video reports showcasing the impacts of initiatives for gender equality in the exact sciences.

• Grant number: 24/00464-1
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Journalism
• Start date: May 01, 2024
• End date: April 30, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Computer Science - Computer Systems
• Principal Investigator: Kalinka Regina Lucas Jaquie Castelo Branco
• Grantee: Sabrina Gomes Felipe de Jesus
• Host Institution: Instituto de Ciências Matemáticas e de Computação (ICMC). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Carlos , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 13/07375-0 - CeMEAI - Center for Mathematical Sciences Applied to Industry, AP.CEPID

Abstract

This journalistic research will be conducted as part of the actions of the Center for Applied Mathematical Sciences to Industry (CeMEAI), under the coordination of the principal researcher Kalinka Regina Lucas Jaquie Castelo Branco. The limited number of female students entering undergraduate courses in the exact sciences, especially in the three largest public universities in São Paulo (UNICAMP, UNESP, and USP), reinforces the stigma that the field is predominantly male, as recent research publications have shown. This disparity also contributes to the global shortage of professionals in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), preventing companies, industries, and other organizations from finding qualified experts to solve their problems. Therefore, over the past seven years, the principal researcher has coordinated initiatives to spark the interest of women in courses related to the exact sciences.Among these actions, the Technovation Summer School for Girls stands out, a free and online summer school for girls aged 8 to 18 to learn how to create applications. Some impacts of these initiatives have been reported in articles by the Institute of Mathematical and Computer Sciences at USP, but there is still a need to develop communication products capable of highlighting how much these actions change the participants' perception of the exact sciences. The aim of this research is to produce audiovisual content highlighting the stories of the impacted girls, to be disseminated on social media. These materials have the potential to encourage more young people to take an interest in the exact sciences and inspire other institutions and researchers to create projects in support of gender equality.