On July 19, a Bangladeshi government delegation of 11 senior officials of the Ministry of Women and Child Affairs visited the GenTIC research group at the IN3 premises. The visit was part of a study tour on the topic of ‘Women Empowerment and ICT’ that also took them to other cities throughout Portugal and Spain.
After the initial presentations of all the participants and welcoming by David Megías, director of IN3, several members of GenTIC presented the group’s research lines and offered an overview of the situation related to women’s empowerment and ICT within the Spanish context.
Milagros Sáinz presented an outline of the objectives and strategy of GenTIC, and tackled diverse questions regarding gender gaps in STEM education and careers.
Jörg Müller commented on part of the results of the GEDII project, a H2020 funded initiative aimed to measure the impact of gender diversity on research teams’ performance. Additionally, he answered questions about existing gender gaps in the European context in terms of salaries and labour market.
Rachel Palmén offered an overview of the EFFORTI project goals and activities oriented to explore the outcomes and impacts of gender equality policies implemented in various European countries.
Finally, Lidia Arroyo presented the results of her ongoing PhD theses on e-exclusion from a gender and social class perspective. Arroyo’s presentation ended up in a final discussion on how to empower women from disadvantaged socioeconomic backgrounds and rural areas.
The visit was funded by the Government of Bangladesh and forms part of a larger World Bank funded project aimed at empowering Bangladeshi women by facilitating access to information and communication technologies.