These awards highlight the academic excellence of female students in traditionally male-dominated fields.
The University of Vigo and the Provincial Council of Pontevedra reaffirmed their commitment to equality this Wednesday during the ceremony of the sixth edition of the GirlGeekPower Awards, an initiative promoted within the framework of the Feminisms 4.0 Chair signed by both institutions. The goal is to highlight the trajectories and profiles of outstanding female students who chose to pursue a STEM degree — fields of science and technology where women, especially in the technological domain, remain underrepresented.
“Today is a day to celebrate and recognize your talent”
The main protagonists were the award-winning students, the top female academic records of the University of Vigo for the 2024/2025 academic year in two categories: Sciences and Health Sciences on the one hand, and Engineering and Architecture on the other.
The two first prizes, worth 2000 euros each, went to Sabela González Alcántara (Sciences) and Lucía Gómez Barros (Engineering and Architecture). The runners-up, awarded 1000 euros each, were Sofía Fernández Cabo (Sciences) and Adriana Pazos Lorenzo (Engineering).
“Today is a day to celebrate and recognize your talent, your dedication, your constant effort, and above all, your courage in continuing to open paths in a field where women are still a minority,” emphasized the head of the Equality Unit, noting that “the STEM world needs your voice, the strength of your ideas, and your creativity to transform and move toward real equality.”
Four young women, four STEM role models for future generations
One by one, they collected their awards. Sabela González Alcántara, first prize in Sciences, emphasized the importance of female role models, still scarcely visible in some fields. She highlighted Vera Rubin and, like her, stressed the curiosity she felt as a child about the world and her connection with nature, which sparked her desire to pursue research. She also recognized the impact that learning about the work of Lynn Margulis, the first honorary doctor of UVigo, had on her vocation and how it led her to discover other women scientists whose contributions encouraged her to believe she, too, could have a place in the laboratory “observing, questioning, discovering.”
The Engineering award recipient, Lucía Gómez Barros, pointed to two key factors in her motivation to study engineering: her mother’s support in nurturing her curiosity and her experience of being, alongside a friend, one of the only two girls in the Technology track of high school. “Engineering teaches you to anticipate obstacles and find ways to improve people’s quality of life,” she noted.
Although aware that STEM remains a male-dominated field, Adriana Pazos Lorenzo highlighted the moment she realized “she had the potential to develop her own ideas,” and how her curiosity about how the world works led her to study Telecommunications Engineering. Over the years, this degree has allowed her to develop skills such as organization, problem-solving, the value of teamwork, the importance of forming groups with diverse perspectives, and perseverance in reaching her goals.
Curiosity was also noted by Sofía Fernández Cabo, in her case regarding the human body. Through Physiotherapy, she found a practical way to apply concrete solutions while working directly with individuals, designing personalized interventions to improve their well-being. She agreed with her peers in identifying shortcomings, gender stereotypes, and subtle inequalities that continue to affect women’s and men’s careers differently. However, rather than discouraging her, these situations push her to develop resilience, be more rigorous in her work, and actively participate in initiatives that give visibility and recognition to women in STEM.
Source: Duvi