In Spain, according to UNESCO, only 30% of women choose to enrol in STEM degrees, a figure that reaches 34% across Europe. As highlighted in the report Women Scientists in Figures 2025, 17% of women believe that gender-based discrimination still exists in science, whereas only 4% of men in the sector perceive it. Reversing these and many other figures that reveal inequalities and the lack of parity in the scientific field—particularly within STEM disciplines—is not an easy task. This explains the importance of the activities organised for 11F, the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, aimed at recognising the role of women scientists and encouraging STEM vocations among girls.
Once again, the University of Vigo joined the celebration of 11F with a comprehensive programme of activities that this Wednesday brought more than 200 students from the 3rd and 4th years of secondary education from IES Coruxo, Politécnico de Vigo, O Castro and Álvaro Cunqueiro to the Vigo campus. They took part in a wide range of workshops organised by the Schools of Telecommunication Engineering, Mining and Energy Engineering, and Industrial Engineering; the Faculties of Philology and Translation and Legal and Labour Sciences; as well as the research centres CINBIO, Cintecx and CIM, with the support of the Equality Unit and the Scientific Culture and Innovation Unit, in collaboration with the Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology – Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities.
With the new initiative of male students visiting the more female-dominated faculties on campus, while girls continued exploring traditionally male-dominated fields, the 11F activities began at 9:30 a.m. with the arrival of students at the Vigo campus, where they remained until midday.
Around twenty workshops across the campus
Specifically, the School of Telecommunication Engineering hosted two workshops: Image Detectives, led by Elena Rodríguez, in which 33 students from IES Álvaro Cunqueiro in Vigo visited our laboratories and received an introduction to the field of digital image forensics, learning how to detect image manipulation and create their own edited content; and Robotics with CuteBot, led by Laura Pardo, where participants were introduced to programming through graphical programming blocks using CuteBot, a robot based on the micro:bit board.
Source: Duvi