Chilean Universities Strengthen Commitment to Women in Academia
The Alliance of 14 diverse Chilean universities for Women in Academia is dedicated to promoting policies and practices that reduce gender inequalities within academia. As a flagship initiative of the Harvard David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies Chile Office, the Alliance aims to spotlight and enhance the myriad initiatives universities undertake to foster substantive equality in academic environments.
The January 2025 Annual Meeting of the Chilean University Alliance for Women in Academia was led by Judith D. Singer, Senior Vice Provost for Faculty Development and Diversity and James Bryant Conant Professor of Education, alongside Nicole Trefault, Vice Provost of Research and Professor at the GEMA Centre for Genomics, Ecology & Environment, from Universidad Mayor. It marked the conclusion of the alliance leadership activities during 2024 by Universidad Mayor.
The two-day event commenced with a public presentation by Professor Judy Singer on the university campus. It addressed an audience including university deans, faculty, and office gender directors committed to fostering a more inclusive, equitable, and diverse academic environment where women enhance their participation in higher education in research, leadership, and decision-making. Judy’s talk and Q&A focused on increasing gender equality and exploring how to design more equitable faculty workload systems.
The director of the InEs program, Dr. Chiara Cazzuffi at Universidad Mayor, presented the first longitudinal data analysis collected through the Women in Academia Survey (EMA), covering the years 2020 to 2024. This analysis represents a significant step towards understanding the trends and patterns defining women's academic participation. Gaining insights into these trends and patterns will aid the University's members of the Alliance in adjusting strategies and ensuring that all actions taken are evidence-based.
In 2024, the Alliance concentrated on fostering synergies between the projects of the National Research and Development Agency and InES Gender, an advancement in higher education that finances the development of capabilities based on scientific technology to reduce gender gaps in research, development, innovation, and entrepreneurship (R+D+i+e) at the country's universities. The activities concluded with meetings with representatives from the Ministry of Science to discuss scientific opportunities.
Universidad Central has been designated to spearhead the efforts in 2025 alongside Francisca Infante, HKS Alumni and Director of Academic Development at Universidad Central. A primary goal is to broaden the Alliance by adding eight new regional universities to foster and expand structural changes in the academic field.
Jan 31, 2025 InES Género Universidad Mayor
