Gladys has been a referent of Chicas en Tecnología since 2016, when she joined #PUMM encouraged by her students. Determined to generate more opportunities for them, she bets on training as a path of motivation and social commitment. Her story is that of the search for new knowledge to continue growing professionally and, along the way, transform the lives of her students.
How did you come to Chicas en Tecnología?
It all started in 2016 when students from the Mano Amiga School wanted to apply to PUMM. I didn't know about the program, I found out about it through them when they asked me to help them sign up and to be their referent. That's how I came to CET.
How was that first experience with CET?
We had the great experience of being able to participate in PUMM and visit Accenture, in Capital. The girls learned a lot, they were happy every time we went. It was my first experience like this with students, outside of the usual educational outings. They had the chance to participate in a contest, they were chosen and won the first prize. From then on, they took training courses and won scholarships. The project they did is called Networked hands and had a lot of repercussion. They are starting college this year but never stopped working for the project.
A world opened up for them and for me, professionally, too, because I had other tools to start teaching my classes, I found a way to motivate better. Through CET I also participate in Developers for Good. I can learn new tools and participate in training courses.
Hands in Network
The app created by PUMM participants connects NGOs with volunteers to improve communication of needs in emergencies. The girls found that in such cases, such as floods, it is often unclear which items are needed and which have already been covered. Manos en Red allows volunteers to know at all times what and where is needed.
After your experience in PUMM, what motivated you to continue as a Club referent?
The main thing was to see how happy the girls were to do something other than just school activities. It creates another place to work where, as a referent and not as a teacher of a grade, there is a different openness with the girls. Taking them to events and being able to share other activities outside of school also opens up opportunities for them. They always have you as a “teacher”, that will not change, but you can give them the freedom, with all due respect, to work in a much more open and enjoyable way.
Something very positive for me was being able to bring together the two schools where I teach to do some of the Girls in Technology activities together. To be able to share and for the girls to create a totally new bond with groups from other schools and to create links is very important. They keep writing to each other, they help each other with certain things, they comment on their projects, that was very important.
The closing of Clubs is done with the two schools, as well as the meetings we participate in. At Mano Amiga we have a very large virtual room, so I take the girls from the other school to that room and we interact. For the closing of the Clubs, each one presents her project and we always invite women who are referents in technology to meet them, to see what they do, to tell their story, that is also motivating. I think Clubs is important for girls because they begin to see that there is a whole different world out there and that they too can have a career in technology.
What is the impact of Clubs on the girls who participate?
The main impact is the realization that if they set their minds to something, they can achieve it. Whether they choose a career related to technology or any other, they have all these tools for their future. When they transit and finish Clubs, they realize all the possibilities they have.. A world opens up to them that sometimes they don't consider because they know about companies, opportunities, careers.
Another important thing about Clubs is to think about the social context. They work on a social project, to address a problem in society, in the school or in the surrounding area. To begin to have that vision beyond themselves, that there are problems and how we can solve them, that is also important.
What is the most valuable thing you were able to bring to them as a reference?
I always try to innovate, to surpass myself, all the time. I think that when you do something with all your fervor you transmit it to the girls. It is important to believe in what you are doing, that if you tell them “it will be useful in the future” they understand it that way because you know that what you are giving them is real. Everything I do is with a lot of enthusiasm and I do it for me too, because I feel I have to be constantly changing things and giving new tools to the girls and boys in the schools, because they don't always need the same thing. So, when we talk about innovation, it is about innovating oneself to be able to transmit all that to them. I believe that is motivation but with commitment, respect and equal opportunities so that all people have the same possibilities., What do I leave the kids with? Sometimes the position you are in is so important that you have to take it very seriously because you can change someone's life. As a teacher you spend a lot of time with them and you ask yourself what kind of role model you want to be, what possibilities you are giving them. I am very fortunate to work with people who think and feel the same way, so we empower each other. It is not about something individual but about being part of a group of people and I think that is where the difference is made.
Why do you think it is important to implement technology education projects with a gender perspective?
Because I believe that if you do not open the possibilities to girls, the field of technology is always very structured for men, in any training they are always the majority. It is important to give weight to girls, to work together to give everyone the same opportunities. With Clubes, girls start to see that there are also many women working in the technology area, that there are Argentinean scientists they did not know. We can all get there and have that opportunity. It is also about self-confidence, learning to express themselves. I had students whose voices were not heard because they were very introverted and since they started participating in Clubs, they were given a place and a space for them to talk and tell about their project and that helped them a lot. Suddenly we had girls who were giving a lecture talking anywhere.
Why would you recommend other people to be Club referrals?
Because it's great! It opens up a world of opportunities, of tools, the possibility of training from other places, of accessing training that would be very expensive because if you don't work in a company you don't have the possibility of doing it. You meet other people and your students from another place, other environments. I think other things start to move when you start to work with values, with social issues, with commitment.. Opening the world of Chicas en Tecnología is opening the world for you and your girls, who are going to be our future.
