Women’s Empowerment Initiatives in Brazilian Universities…
447
Thus, through this study, it was possible to understand that the presence of women
in higher education institutions is increasing. However, institutions must encourage
female participation in all areas of knowledge, especially in the areas of technology
and exact sciences. In addition, it is necessary to encourage girls’ access to study in
these areas, through the connection between university, science and the community.
It is noteworthy that gender inequality is still one of the challenges to be overcome in order to achieve sustainable development. Therefore, the role of universities is to mitigate the gender gap in leadership positions and intellectual circles,
through educational empowerment that will generate financial independence. As a
result, employment opportunities for men and women would increase, so that gender
differences in the labor market become less pronounced at higher education levels.
However, as demonstrated in this article, changes occur when universities connect
the community with academia and conduct studies. When there are incentives for
public policies and investments, and private partnerships within universities.
Finally, it is worth to point out that this study had some limitations, such as the lack
of presentation of quantitative data corresponding to the results of the projects, both
for the community and for the university. Therefore, it would be necessary to carry
out analyses of other initiatives in other contexts, including geographic and social
contexts. Also, another suggestion would be for studies to verify the best approaches
and the main difficulties of the projects. There is the possibility of research and
interviews to be made with women who have already done and were favored by
university extension programs, to verify the influence of these actions in their lives.
References
Agrello DA, Garg R (2009) Mulheres na física: poder e preconceito nos países em desenvolvimento.
Rev Bras Ensino Fís 31(1):1305
Alvarez ML (2013) A case study of women’s political empowerment in the Philippines. In: 12th
National Convention on Statistics (NCS) EDSA, Mandaluyong City, pp 1–2
Amorim MP et al (2018) 4849477 PAMIF—Programa de Atenção Materno-Infantil e Familiar: O
seu Papel na Extensão Universitária. Semana de Ciência e Tecnologia. Retrieved from http://per
iodicos.unesc.net/cienciaetecnologia/article/download/5169/4687
Barbosa MC, Lima BS (2013) Mulheres na Física do Brasil: Por que tão poucas? E por que tão
devagar. Trabalhadoras: análise da feminização das profissões e ocupações. Editorial Abaré,
Brasília
Bartnik FMP, Silva IMD (2009) Avaliação da ação extensionista em universidades católicas e
comunitárias. Rev Avaliação Educação Super Campinas 14(2):453–469
Bhattacherjee A (2012) Social science research: principles, methods, and practices
Blossfeld H-P, Kilpi-Jakonen E, Vono de Vilhena D, Buchholz S (eds) (2014) Adult learning in
modern societies: an international comparison from a life-course perspective. Edward Elgar,
Cheltenham
Bonder G (2015) National assessments of gender, science, technology and innovation: Argentina.
Women in global science and technology and the organization for women in science for the
developing world: Brighton (Canada)
Brito C, Pavani D, Lima P Jr (2015) Meninas na Ciência: atraindo jovens mulheres para carreiras
de Ciência e Tecnologia. Rev Gênero 16(1)
447
Thus, through this study, it was possible to understand that the presence of women
in higher education institutions is increasing. However, institutions must encourage
female participation in all areas of knowledge, especially in the areas of technology
and exact sciences. In addition, it is necessary to encourage girls’ access to study in
these areas, through the connection between university, science and the community.
It is noteworthy that gender inequality is still one of the challenges to be overcome in order to achieve sustainable development. Therefore, the role of universities is to mitigate the gender gap in leadership positions and intellectual circles,
through educational empowerment that will generate financial independence. As a
result, employment opportunities for men and women would increase, so that gender
differences in the labor market become less pronounced at higher education levels.
However, as demonstrated in this article, changes occur when universities connect
the community with academia and conduct studies. When there are incentives for
public policies and investments, and private partnerships within universities.
Finally, it is worth to point out that this study had some limitations, such as the lack
of presentation of quantitative data corresponding to the results of the projects, both
for the community and for the university. Therefore, it would be necessary to carry
out analyses of other initiatives in other contexts, including geographic and social
contexts. Also, another suggestion would be for studies to verify the best approaches
and the main difficulties of the projects. There is the possibility of research and
interviews to be made with women who have already done and were favored by
university extension programs, to verify the influence of these actions in their lives.
References
Agrello DA, Garg R (2009) Mulheres na física: poder e preconceito nos países em desenvolvimento.
Rev Bras Ensino Fís 31(1):1305
Alvarez ML (2013) A case study of women’s political empowerment in the Philippines. In: 12th
National Convention on Statistics (NCS) EDSA, Mandaluyong City, pp 1–2
Amorim MP et al (2018) 4849477 PAMIF—Programa de Atenção Materno-Infantil e Familiar: O
seu Papel na Extensão Universitária. Semana de Ciência e Tecnologia. Retrieved from http://per
iodicos.unesc.net/cienciaetecnologia/article/download/5169/4687
Barbosa MC, Lima BS (2013) Mulheres na Física do Brasil: Por que tão poucas? E por que tão
devagar. Trabalhadoras: análise da feminização das profissões e ocupações. Editorial Abaré,
Brasília
Bartnik FMP, Silva IMD (2009) Avaliação da ação extensionista em universidades católicas e
comunitárias. Rev Avaliação Educação Super Campinas 14(2):453–469
Bhattacherjee A (2012) Social science research: principles, methods, and practices
Blossfeld H-P, Kilpi-Jakonen E, Vono de Vilhena D, Buchholz S (eds) (2014) Adult learning in
modern societies: an international comparison from a life-course perspective. Edward Elgar,
Cheltenham
Bonder G (2015) National assessments of gender, science, technology and innovation: Argentina.
Women in global science and technology and the organization for women in science for the
developing world: Brighton (Canada)
Brito C, Pavani D, Lima P Jr (2015) Meninas na Ciência: atraindo jovens mulheres para carreiras
de Ciência e Tecnologia. Rev Gênero 16(1)