Programa del congreso

This paper presents an open innovation experience with a gender perspective, aiming to identify and address biases in automatic speech recognition (ASR) technologies. The project was developed within the framework of the first Latin American Open Innovation Day, organized by CAL-Matilda, involving faculty and student teams from Argentina. Based on a methodology that combines the innovation cycle and design science, the team identified the issue of gender and racial bias in ASR systems, analyzed the composition of existing datasets, evaluated the differential performance of models, and developed the collaborative platform VocesLatinas.ai. This initiative aims to establish an open repository of Latin American women’s voices, thereby enhancing the representativeness of models in training. The article documents the process of analysis, design, and pilot testing, and reflects on the learnings from a territorial, collaborative, and situated approach.

This full paper presents preliminary results from a broader research project analyzing the stories of successful Latin American women in engineering published as part of the CAL Matilda. Framed under the consideration of direct, systemic and cultural violence, we explore what expressions of gendered violence are found in the lived narratives of successful women engineers in Latin America through a qualitative inductive process. Our preliminary results showcase experiences with public discrimination, the need to prove their capabilities, dealing with gender exclusive spaces, facing jokes and insults related to gender, as well as the experience of sexual harassment. We present how this work will continue, and how its results could support the advancement of our understanding of gendered violence in engineering spaces.

The Red Abierta de Mujeres en Ciencias (AMEC), an initiative of the Universidad Estatal a Distancia of Costa Rica, identified the need to make visible reports of harassment and violence within the university environment. This responds to the community’s demand for safer spaces and the institution’s commitment to mainstreaming a gender perspective. As part of this response, the Tendedero Virtual was developed—an anonymous and secure web-based system that allows users to register, view, and manage reports. This tool was created by students from the Instituto Tecnológico de Costa Rica as part of the Software Engineering Project course, using agile methodologies (Scrum and Lean) in collaboration with the Laboratorio de Investigación e Innovación Tecnológica (LIIT), UNED. The system uses a client-server architecture, with React for the client-side development and PHP with MariaDB on the server. Various security measures were implemented, including input validation and sanitization, endpoint protection, session control, and role-based filtering, to ensure privacy and data protection. The platform enables anonymous reporting, optionally including demographic data, and offers a clear, responsive, and intuitive interface. It also incorporates a content curation system managed by authorized users to prevent the spread of malicious content. This system aims not only to protect victims but also to foster a cultural transformation toward safer and more equitable educational spaces. By facilitating access and encouraging community participation, the system contributes to generating valuable data for the design of policies and preventive actions, thus supporting a cultural shift toward safer, more inclusive, and more conscious educational environments.

En un curso universitario de Gestión de Datos de la carrera Ingeniería, se desarrolló un proyecto orientado a debatir los sesgos, especialmente de género, en el tratamiento de datos, abordando tanto su impacto en la validez de las conclusiones como sus dimensiones éticas y profesionales. El objetivo fue promover en los estudiantes una comprensión crítica de estas problemáticas mediante el uso de bibliografía especializada, el análisis de casos y la exploración de métodos innovadores para difundir los temas tratados.

La propuesta, de carácter participativo y práctico, fomentó la lectura crítica, la reflexión a partir de experiencias propias y el descubrimiento de herramientas para identificar y mitigar sesgos. Se buscó fortalecer el rol activo de los estudiantes en su aprendizaje, impulsando una perspectiva ética y crítica sobre el uso de datos en el ejercicio profesional de la ingeniería.

Los resultados evidenciaron que los estudiantes asumieron con creatividad el desafío de presentar contenidos, explorando formatos innovadores para su difusión. Asimismo, las intervenciones y explicaciones mostraron una notable concientización sobre los sesgos y sus implicaciones sociales, confirmando la efectividad de integrar este tipo de prácticas en la formación de ingenieros para complementar las competencias técnicas con una sólida conciencia ética. Se encontró un valor especial en generar discusiones y debates desde diferentes perspectivas presentes en la sociedad actual.

The digital divide and gender cyber violence are systemic problems that disproportionately affect women in vulnerable contexts in Colombia, such as the community of the Centro de Promoción y Cultura (CPC) in Bogotá. in this way, we highlight that, although digital literacy is essential for participation in modern life, inequalities in access and skills persist, limiting the opportunities and quality of life of these women. The situation is exacerbated by the impact of Artificial Intelligence, which intensifies digital violence by creating misleading content such as deepfakes, encouraging the anonymity of aggressors and reinforcing gender biases, damaging women's reputation, freedom and well-being. Thus, addressing the digital divide and online violence is a social justice imperative and a crucial investment for the development and inclusion of these women in a safe and equitable digital society.

Keywords-- Digital literacy; digital divide; quality of life; development opportunities; gender cyber-violence; gender inequalities.

This article examines the forms of gender-based discrimination and violence faced by girls, young women, and women in engineering and STEM fields (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) in Latin America and the Caribbean. Based on a survey conducted with 40 professional women, the study explores issues such as the gender wage gap, lack of educational guidance, occupational segregation, and persistent gender stereotypes. The analysis incorporates empirical data, literature review, and personal testimonies, and highlights the transformative role of female role models in the sector. The article concludes with proposals to advance gender equity in engineering.