Letter to the Editor: More Women in Science

Mr. Director:

On January 20, it was announced that 1,562 women had been selected for science programs as a result of a joint effort between the government and institutions of higher education to grant women additional spots in programs related to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (also known as STEM), representing 443 more students admitted compared to the previous year.

Despite these significant efforts, the data continues to challenge us: only 35% of STEM students worldwide are women, and in Chile, they accounted for 32% of the 2026 admissions. This gap confirms that, beyond current measures, this is a long-term challenge both for the government and for those of us in civil society who seek to complement these efforts.

Concrete steps include promoting more stories about women in these fields—who serve as key role models for girls and adolescents—reviewing curricula, and ensuring that students have full access to information on employability and salaries for the various career paths available after high school.

Let’s not let any female talent in STEM go to waste. We need to encourage more women to work in laboratories, in mines, in programming, in research, and in creating knowledge—not just to complement what already exists, but to develop what has not yet been imagined.

Fernanda Orellana, Director of Education at the Luksic Foundation.