We know that there is currently a general lack of interest among young people in science and technology studies and careers that affects both boys and girls. Many reasons why young people are not interested in these areas are common: lack of knowledge about engineering or scientific professions and what is done in them; the wrong perception of their difficulty; ignorance of the wide range of possibilities for professional development in these degrees; the low social relevance given to science and technology in many contexts.
However, there are other issues that reach girls and boys very differently. Stereotypes of science and technology professions are highly gender-biased. Public references of professionals receiving recognition are affected by a society that is still far from gender neutral. It is still common today to hear that women do not like technology, that there are no good women scientists, that the most important technologists are male/female; and stereotypes such as the lonely scientist, the asocial computer scientist or the incomprehensible technologist. All this imbues science and technology with an added difficulty for girls that becomes a spur for boys. It has been shown that with the same academic performance in science, a girl's self-perception of her potential and viability to pursue a career in science is lower.
It is especially valuable that in this contrast of reality that means that gender matters, girls and boys are separated to reinforce their reflection: in our society, opportunities are still not the same for boys and girls. What a girl gets is not the same as what a boy gets. What a woman is told is different from what a man is told. This separation facilitates identification and reflection.
The Inspira project proposes a one-off activity of introspection and reflection by girls with girls, and boys with boys, with the intention of sharing the conclusions in the joint group afterwards. It is particularly valuable for girls to confront the variety of causes and barriers that make it difficult for women to realise their potential in science and technology, and we have found that the atmosphere created in the small groups is very trusting and highly enriching. During only 5 sessions, the girls work with a female professional reference as a mentor, and experience first-hand one of the main causes of the problem of gender bias in science and technology: the lack of female references. Valuable dynamics are generated from the small group of girls and the small group of boys, which can then be shared and passed on to the larger group. In our experience, it is not useful to isolate boys and girls in a fantasy that society does not differentiate by gender, when this is not the case. It is useful to recognise the existing reality and become aware of it (boys and girls) in order to transform it.
After having worked with hundreds of girls and having contrasted experience and opinions, the Inspira project has validated the opportunity to carry out the mentoring process in this way. The methodology is as follows: in session 1 and 6, girls and boys are together. In sessions 2, 3, 4 and 5, the mentor will be with the girls and the mentor with the boys (unless we have enough mentors for that school). In this way, the Inspira girls take advantage of and enjoy the common ‘girls’’ space, it helps them to feel like protagonists, they discover a space of freedom and deepening and develop different dynamics than those that would occur if boys also participated. The boys at Inspira in turn have the opportunity to discover this gender difference, to question the advantages and differences that society has established, and to generate an enriching space for reflection for themselves.
It is also essential to ensure that the working groups are much smaller than a standard class (we prefer groups smaller than 15, and better closer to 10). The process that takes place, facilitated by the mentor, provokes reflection, expression and participation of all and seeks to make each girl aware of her importance and capacity. In turn, after this work in small groups, the return to the large group generates beneficial dynamics and better cohesion in the groups.
The Inspira project separates in order to integrate, differentiates in order to understand. Improvement is more feasible from the awareness of reality.
In addition to the aforementioned reasons, we believe that Inspira proposes an opportunity to generate a first experience of sorority among girls, in line with relevant social movements in our society today: it promotes in girls positive relationships and alliances with other girls to contribute with specific actions to the visualisation of all forms of machismo and gender marginalisation, and mutual support to facilitate the vital empowerment of each girl.