Paulina Bocaz, the AUI Representative and NRAO Assistant Director for Chile, has been selected to join the Advisory Council of “ComunidadMujer” (Women’s Community), an independent, inclusive organization in Chile that promotes women’s rights and actively contributes to the generation of public policies for greater equality and equity in education, labor and politics. Its purpose is to ensure that women are born in a society with equal rights and opportunities.
This honor was due in part to the success of PROVOCA, an AUI-Chile and NRAO campaign to highlight the role of women in STEM fields. The centerpiece of this effort is a web series of videos featuring eight women scientists: all role models in astronomy, engineering, information sciences and physics. The goal of this program is to inspire young people across Chile. Its nine episodes are targeted at younger generations to spark their passion for sciences. The series focuses on female scientists explaining to 62 students in Puente Alto, Quilicura and Toconao how they overcame hurdles to reach their dreams and contribute to gender equality in science.
Paulina was recently featured on CNN Chile discussing this effort and the impact that she hopes it will have in the near and long term.
The PROVOCA program has also been translated into English and has received special attention from the U.S. National Science Foundation.
As part of the Advisory Council of ComunidadMujer, Paulina will have the opportunity to build important linkages with like-minded people who share similar goals and are working to advance the gender equality in Chile and the cultural transformation necessary to build a more just and equitable society. Her first meeting as a member of the council will take place May 17 in Santiago.
Associated Universities, Inc. (AUI) is a U.S. non-profit corporation, which operates the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO), the Green Bank Observatory (GBO) and the Long Baseline Observatory (LBO) under cooperative agreements with the National Science Foundation (NSF). NRAO facilities include the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) in New Mexico and the North American portion of the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) in Chile. For further information please visit aui.edu.
