446
C. P. Finatto et al.
meetings are held with teachers and students involved in the program. Each week,
a group of students is responsible for conducting the meeting. The focus is on
discussing the results of an existing workshop or designing more improved actions.
5 Conclusion
Higher education institutions have been developing strategies and actions to empower
and include more women. However, inequalities persist. Gender inequality is still
a social and historical issue that hinders access for women in many social spheres,
especially in the labor market and high-quality education.
In this sense, a contemporary perspective of the image of women in society, in all
its spheres, is being increasingly discussed. Issues related to equal rights, access to
health and education are the main topics. And with this study, it can be understood
that university extension programs have the potential to make a positive contribution
through the ability to connect knowledge and people.
This paper presented a qualitative discursive analysis of two university extension
programs with the potential to contribute to strategies for higher education institutions
to collaborate with SDGs 4 and 5. The Brazilian programs called: Maternal-Child and
Family Care Program and Girls in Science were held at three Brazilian universities
in southern Brazil, in the state institution UNESC, in the federal institution UFRGS
and in the private institution UNISUL. The programs focus on improving the goals
of quality education and gender equality.
In this context, extension programs in science and technology have presented integrative and efficient initiatives to emphasize the socioeconomic and cultural role of
women in society. In addition, the programs were representative of the empowerment
of women by improving education, as a whole, when they connected the academic
and scientific environment with girls and women with the potential to get into these
areas.
The Maternal-Child and Family Assistance Program, applied by UNESC, showed
how essential it is to offer quality-education opportunities for pregnant women. Pregnant women are the ones who have a greater stigma when entering the job market,
which is why the project puts the whole family in the process of generating a child,
shifting the cultural burden of the responsibility from only the mother to the family
(woman). Thus, it favors the concept of women’s empowerment through the feeling
of independence.
The “Girls in Science” Program, in turn, proved to be efficient in the south of
Brazil, hosted by two relevant institutions in the region, the Federal University of Rio
Grande do Sul and the University of the South of Santa Catarina. The initiative sought
to connect adolescent girls from public schools to undergraduate students, researchers
and teachers. Thus, the project encourages leadership, knowledge, initiation and
scientific representation; essential factors for women’s empowerment and gender
equality.
C. P. Finatto et al.
meetings are held with teachers and students involved in the program. Each week,
a group of students is responsible for conducting the meeting. The focus is on
discussing the results of an existing workshop or designing more improved actions.
5 Conclusion
Higher education institutions have been developing strategies and actions to empower
and include more women. However, inequalities persist. Gender inequality is still
a social and historical issue that hinders access for women in many social spheres,
especially in the labor market and high-quality education.
In this sense, a contemporary perspective of the image of women in society, in all
its spheres, is being increasingly discussed. Issues related to equal rights, access to
health and education are the main topics. And with this study, it can be understood
that university extension programs have the potential to make a positive contribution
through the ability to connect knowledge and people.
This paper presented a qualitative discursive analysis of two university extension
programs with the potential to contribute to strategies for higher education institutions
to collaborate with SDGs 4 and 5. The Brazilian programs called: Maternal-Child and
Family Care Program and Girls in Science were held at three Brazilian universities
in southern Brazil, in the state institution UNESC, in the federal institution UFRGS
and in the private institution UNISUL. The programs focus on improving the goals
of quality education and gender equality.
In this context, extension programs in science and technology have presented integrative and efficient initiatives to emphasize the socioeconomic and cultural role of
women in society. In addition, the programs were representative of the empowerment
of women by improving education, as a whole, when they connected the academic
and scientific environment with girls and women with the potential to get into these
areas.
The Maternal-Child and Family Assistance Program, applied by UNESC, showed
how essential it is to offer quality-education opportunities for pregnant women. Pregnant women are the ones who have a greater stigma when entering the job market,
which is why the project puts the whole family in the process of generating a child,
shifting the cultural burden of the responsibility from only the mother to the family
(woman). Thus, it favors the concept of women’s empowerment through the feeling
of independence.
The “Girls in Science” Program, in turn, proved to be efficient in the south of
Brazil, hosted by two relevant institutions in the region, the Federal University of Rio
Grande do Sul and the University of the South of Santa Catarina. The initiative sought
to connect adolescent girls from public schools to undergraduate students, researchers
and teachers. Thus, the project encourages leadership, knowledge, initiation and
scientific representation; essential factors for women’s empowerment and gender
equality.