After the commitment of the international community to achieve sustainable development, based on the 17 SDGs of the UN, being the SG #5 where the importance of reducing gender inequality is explicitly recognized, institutions involved in Continuing Education, have prioritized to develop initiatives that strengthen the participation and empowerment of women in different fields, especially in the areas of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics; STEM. The fulfillment of this goal in Latin America is complex because it's two greatest social challenges are gender inequality and exclusion. In this sense, the OECD Latin America Policy Priorities Report identifies that there are only 3 women for every 10 men in STEM-related jobs.

This work in progress presents the work objectives for a particular committee within the MIC initiative: Linkage Committee, responsible for internal linkage within the institution and external linkage with national and international organizations, companies, and universities. The report analyzes the strategies designed to meet their proposed objectives including: (i) to create an ecosystem that promotes women empowerment in the School of Engineering and Science to achieve international projects with a gender and social responsibility perspective, and (ii) to implement Lean In Circles; groups of women who meet regularly to learn and grow together.