The organization is the winner in the “Science Outreach” category of the Inspiring & Innovating Science Awards 2020.
Chicas en Tecnología is the winning organization in the awards. Inspiring & Innovating Science Awards 2020, The "The Nature Research" award, granted by Nature Research and Estée Lauder Companies. The recognition obtained in the category “Scientific Dissemination”.” seeks to highlight organizations around the world that are working for encouraging girls and adolescents to become involved in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) careers. This year there were only two categories to apply, which created a greater challenge for the organizations.
After an exhaustive two-month, multi-stage process, along with five finalist organizations from South Africa, Ireland, Scotland, the United States and Italy, Chicas en Tecnología was the only representative from Latin America and at the final award ceremony was highlighted for its quick and accessible responses to adapt proposals and generate initiatives in the context of the pandemic.
In a suddenly transformed global scenario, the organization modified its action plan for 2020, not only redesigned its programs and initiatives, but also generated new proposals (both online and offline) to expand its reach to young and adolescent women throughout the region. The experience of the organization's five years of work, in the midst of social and preventive isolation, has allowed it to create new opportunities through continuous work together with educational and technological entrepreneurs to generate systemic and sustainable change, even in adverse contexts such as the current one in which the gender agenda must redouble its efforts since women are the group most affected by the pandemic.
To continue with its mission to inspire teenage girls in the region to study and get involved in STEM careers, Chicas en Tecnología -with its 100% remote team- launched new opportunities and proposals The new initiatives are of high quality, free and open to the public and put the young women of the region at the center of the experiences so that they can interact with the interdisciplinary universe of which technology is a part and learn about their potential as creators of technological solutions with a social impact. Teenagers and young women from all over Argentina and other countries such as Uruguay, Paraguay, Mexico, Peru, Spain, Colombia and the Dominican Republic participated in the new initiatives. One of the aspects highlighted by the participants is the regional perspective, the possibility of accessing quality proposals in Spanish and through referents of the ecosystem.
At the same time that the pandemic accentuated the exponential growth that the technological field was already experiencing, it became evident that the gender gap in technology prevents women from being part of this transformation, which is taking place at a global level. Faced with these challenges, the recognition granted by Nature Research and Estée Lauder Companies is a boost to continue with the creation of new proposals, free and inclusive, that empower young women in the region and their communities. The award includes an economic incentive, as well as support such as mentoring sessions for the winning organization to continue its work.
