In Brazil and Portugal, gender equality in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) has been the subject of public policies and educational initiatives aimed at reducing the gender gap in these professions. However, the results still show little substantial change, especially in the areas of Computing and Artificial Intelligence. We therefore propose to reflect on the factors limiting the outcomes of interventions in this scenario, within a broader framework of public policies on equality, approaches, and resistances.

We consider as the context for our analysis the advance of conservative, anti-gender agendas through various strategies, including the appropriation of themes dear to progressive movements, such as gender equality and education. When these two fields intersect, anti-feminism uses moral and religious values to shift the discussion about its importance to the private sphere. Using the discourse on family autonomy confines the discussion on sexuality to the private sphere and denies the maintenance of historically perpetrated inequalities against women in access to and permanence in education and, consequently, in work. Meanwhile, gender violence is on the rise and inequalities in women's career choices and trajectories persist.

Thus, in order to combine the scenarios in Portugal and Brazil, we raise the following questions as a basis for our debate: What frameworks have been given to gender inequality in STEM by public policies in education? How have conservative movements limited the scope of equality policies? What gender biases are present in basic and higher education that need to be addressed? How have actions influenced pedagogical practices to make them gender-sensitive?

This session is part of Viviane Gomes Teixeira's postdoctoral research at CES, within the activities of the Informal Women and Gender Studies Group, as part of the Women4Digital project, coordinated by Rosa Monteiro at CES. It will feature several presentations on politics, power, technology, and education, fostering dialogue between Portugal and Brazil. The aim is to promote joint reflection and to take stock of the main studies and research carried out over the last year on these topics within the Master's in Sociology at FEUC, which contribute to the project's reflection.

The meeting is part of the project ‘Áreas das Ciências Exatas como opção profissional feminina’ [Exact Sciences as a professional option for women], supported by CNPq and FAPERJ, as well as the Women4Digital Project, funded by FCT and PLANAPP.

Organisers: Project Women4Digital - Gender Equality in the Digital Transition in Portugal: what place for Women? and Masters in sociology at the Faculty of Economics - UC