Mainstreaming the gender perspective in higher education training processes

The CRUCH Gender Equality Commission held the seminar “Mainstreaming the Gender Perspective in Higher Education Training Processes,» an event that drew over 140 professionals from various academic institutions across the country. Text and photographs courtesy of Diego Portales University.

The Gender Equality Commission of the Council of Rectors of Chilean Universities (CRUCH) held the seminar “Mainstreaming the gender perspective in the training processes of higher education: experiences, opportunities and proposals” on Thursday, October 17, in the auditorium of the Faculty of Education of the Diego Portales University.

The event was designed to foster the exchange of best practices and routines among institutions regarding gender and educational dynamics. Presentations were given by professionals from Diego Portales University, the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, the Metropolitan University of Educational Sciences, the Catholic University of Maule, the Catholic University of the Holy Conception, the University of Concepción, the Catholic University of Temuco, and the University of Los Lagos.

The meeting also saw a large and well-attended event. In total, approximately 142 people participated in person and 40 attended remotely from various institutions across the country, from Arica to Magallanes. Participants included members of departments such as gender equality, curriculum, teaching, institutional development, strategic communications, postgraduate studies, and continuing education, among others.

Fernanda Kri Amar, rector of the University of O'Higgins and head of the CRUCH Gender Equality Commission, celebrated the meeting and indicated that this forum makes a significant contribution, since sharing experiences and analyses creates substantial gains for university life. "We are convinced that this is the way to move forward more quickly," she stated, adding that 2024 has been a challenging year for the Gender Equality Commission.

Accordingly, she stated that Chilean universities face significant challenges and called on professionals to generate changes in collaboration with their academic vice-rectors: “It is good that as we move forward, we formalize (...), because, at the end of the day, what we need is for gender to be mainstreamed in curricula. Therefore, we must continue with this collaborative work agenda,” she specified.

For her part, Elisa Araya Cortez, rector of the Metropolitan University of Educational Sciences (UMCE) and head of the Commission of Academic Vice-Rectors of the CRUCH, reflected on the challenges that academic institutions face in incorporating a gender perspective at their different levels and stressed: “It is urgent to look at what is happening in a comprehensive and coordinated way, so that we can create synergy (…). That is the challenge of incorporating a gender perspective in our universities.”.

Meanwhile, Angélica Marín Díaz, executive secretary of the Gender and Sexualities Office of UMCE and coordinator of the CRUCH Gender Equality Commission, indicated that the seminar “allowed us to learn about the variety of strategies” that the institutions have developed “to incorporate the gender perspective in the training processes both in the general education of those who study at CRUCH Universities, as well as in specific careers, such as pedagogy, social sciences and the construction area.”.

Thus, regarding the day's conclusions, she stated: “The necessary coordination between curricular units, academic vice-rectorates, and gender offices for achieving the work is evident. Both in the presentations and in the group work, opportunities to continue moving forward were identified, such as curricular adjustments and redesigns, and concrete actions were also proposed to remove the obstacles that still persist, including the lack of training in gender issues among those who must implement the changes.”.

For Mariana Gaba, director of the Gender Office at UDP, this event marked a milestone regarding “the incorporation of a gender perspective into educational processes at universities.” She stated that “the collaborative work carried out between the CRUCH committees, which bring together the gender offices on the one hand and the academic vice-rectorates on the other, has proven to be more than successful in this first stage.”.

“The nine experiences presented at the seminar in the various panels showcase the diversity of experiences and trajectories in this work of curricular and teaching innovation; and they demonstrate that, although there is certainly much to be done, work is underway, and a first step is to share these experiences within the community of higher education institutions. We hope this will be the beginning of an ongoing collaborative process between gender offices and academic vice-rectorates,” she emphasized.

During the seminar, Javiera Matus León, a lawyer and gender officer at the National Accreditation Commission, shared the Commission's experience in implementing internal and external strategies to promote a gender perspective. Nelson Fernández, president of the Commission of Academic Vice-Rectors (CoVRA), and Angélica Marín Díaz, coordinator of the Gender Equality Commission, reflected on the collaborative work between the two commissions of the Council of Rectors of Chilean Universities (CRUCH). The program also included a series of group workshops.