Abstract:

Science and technology have continually advanced, transforming our work and social habits by merging the physical and digital worlds. This shift demands new technology skills for future employability. Even today, women encounter barriers that hinder their presence in science. This inequality is evident in the choice of scientific and technological studies, reducing their presence in sector that is strategic for the development of the economy and the leadership of a country. This reinforces the problem of the invisibility of women and the maintenance of stereotypes. There have always been women scientists, but they have often been overlooked.

In this work, we propose a series of activities aimed at early stages to reduce the real gap in STEM areas by making female role models and their contributions known, and attempting to combat the "Matilda effect" (the systematic forgetting and deliberate concealing of the work of women in science). Making the contributions of women visible and breaking stereotypes is a fundamental step toward normalizing and achieving full and equitable access and participation of women and girls in science.

The work is divided into actions directed at students in the early years of schooling (preschool and primary education) and those aimed at more mature stages like secondary education, with activities focused on two key objectives: making the contributions of women to the advancement of science and technology visible and discarding stereotypes.

Early Stages. The activity begins with a general presentation and a series of specific and general activities. In the category of specific activities, workshops are conducted around selected figures (in this initial development, Joan Clarke and Hedy Lamarr have been chosen). A poster of the chosen scientist, which visually presents the basic details of her career and scientific development or invention, is brought into the classroom, and a series of playful activities related to the discovery are scheduled. For Joan Clarke, students learn cryptography and play with basic ciphers like Caesar and Polybius square.

General activities include quiz-style games to identify inventions and their discoverers, such as word searches or Find on Pair. Lastly, students are encouraged to search for targeted information about 12 female scientists with the aim of creating and later developing a "Wall of Fame" and a school calendar.

Secondary Education. With more maturity, students can tackle more in-depth activities. In this case, the presentation of the activity first involves an exposition of data, figures, and statistics reflecting the barriers faced by women scientists. Subsequently, a brief tribute acknowledges their often-overlooked scientific contributions across various disciplines. Workshops focus on identifying stereotypes in movies, TV, search engines, and highlighting inequalities in science and technology representation in education and media. The absence of women scientists in textbooks and media, and the invisibility of their achievements, causes many girls to perceive science as an alien field, despite their demonstrated high aptitude in these subjects.

We believe that this type of activities, especially those aimed at early stages, has enormous value and significance in reducing the real gap in STEM areas by highlighting female role models and their contributions.

Keywords:

Gender equality, Matilda effect, science, technology.