Women represent 54% of the Spanish university population, but at the University of Alicante they regret that this percentage drops to 25% in careers such as Architecture or Engineering. For this reason, they have launched the “I want to be an engineer” program, in which 400 secondary school students from all over the province participate. The participants have been able to share experiences with four reference women: Susana Soler, Virginia Esquitino, Cristina Ávila and Ana Alonso.
The computer engineer and director of Banco Sabadell’s Technological Competence Center in Alicante, Susana Soler, remembers that it was her mathematics teacher who encouraged her to study engineering. “Technical careers are not for boys, we need a future designed by women and men,” she highlights.
“Let nothing stop you. What you propose you can achieve », is the message that she sends to the young Virginia Esquitino who works in Tempe of the Inditex group. “In my case, as a mechanical engineer I have been linked to a very masculinized sector from the beginning, but little by little we are becoming more women and we have a lot to contribute,” she details.
The Civil Engineer, Cristina Ávila, with eight years of experience in the construction sector, points out that “when I studied it was quite a challenge because I thought I would only find men, but it was a pleasant surprise to see that we were quite a few women. We must be brave and break barriers in sectors that have historically been occupied by men, we are just as valid».
«My experience in chemical engineering has been very good. I have been an operations engineer for more than 10 years and every day I have had to respond to a new challenge and that is a lot of fun. It is important for young people to know that from the different engineering fields we provide solutions to society,” says Ana Alonso, who currently works at SABIC, one of the world’s leading petrochemical companies located in Cartagena
In the UA, the presence of women is still unequal. “There is a big difference between some degrees. For example, in chemical engineering, biomedical or architecture there is a more equal number, but in civil engineering, robotics, computer science, telecommunications or multimedia there are only 15% of girls”, highlights Virgilio Gilart, director of the Higher Polytechnic School.
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