The COIT organizes a conference on the present and future role of women in Telecommunications Engineering

The 'Women and Engineering' Working Group of the Official College of Telecommunications Engineers has organized a work day to analyze the gender gap in telecommunications.

The Official College of Telecommunications Engineers (COIT) held the meeting entitled The role of women in Telecommunications Engineering at the Royal Academy of Engineering (RAI), in order to learn different points of view on the incorporation of women in the telecommunications segment.

This is the first day of work of this WG, whose objective is none other than to dissolve the so-called “gender gap” in this profession. And according to the latest socio-professional study of the segment, women only represent a quarter of the student group (specifically 25.1%) and only 17.2% of the professionals who already work as teleco engineers are women. These data are far from the desirable statistical parity and make it clear that Telecommunications Engineering studies are not those chosen by the majority of women.

As Eugenio Fontán, dean-president of the COIT, pointed out, the objective of this and other upcoming sessions is to propose initiatives that can serve society as a whole, and to do so in a coordinated manner with the rest of the institutions and public organizations, to implement a joint strategy throughout Spain. In short, at the COIT we pursue two goals: the first, to promote the vocations of more women towards Telecommunications Engineering studies. And a second objective, no less important, is to ensure the professional development of women in their professional career until they reach positions of responsibility.

The role of women in Telecommunications Engineering

The COIT Working Group has had the collaboration of the Royal Academy of Engineering, since this entity has been carrying out the project (for almost two years) Women and Engineering, coordinated by Sara Gómez, RAI Advisor, who pointed out that "the ICT sector is the engineering of the future and of the present. (...) The IV Industrial Revolution is digital and feminine", and pointed out that "family responsibilities are the first problem for women engineers and the reconciliation of family life is one of the main reasons for the existence of the gender gap."

Cristina Álvarez, Engineer of the Year 2016 and Independent Advisor of SACYR, claimed that “it is not a women's issue that without men the existing gender gap in engineering cannot be resolved.” The telecommunications engineer encouraged her to enroll in engineering because it is a career that has an opportunity and a future. “We are not geeks” he stressed, highlighting the importance of breaking the stereotypes that currently exist.

Mónica Ortega, president of the State Council of Telecommunications Students (CEET), participated on behalf of the new generations and requested help from the Ministry of Education on behalf of the students because it is not enough from the associations and institutions. She also demanded that primary school teachers have greater training in STEM subjects and also promote it.

Carolina Pascual, coordinator of the WG, highlighted that "It is very important to have the talent of all the members of the group, so that more women are oriented towards telecommunication engineering studies and thereby reduce the gender gap in our profession." She also added that her work in the WG will “promote, through different actions, the incorporation of more women into Telecommunications Engineering, the development of their professional career will be encouraged and it will contribute to more and more women assuming positions of responsibility.”

To close the session, as a member of the COIT, Amalia Fontán specified that our entity seeks to alleviate the gender gap in the telecommunications sector and offer the possibility of participating and promoting (in a plural and inclusive way) the presence of women in the field of Engineering and Technology.