-UG Registers an increment in the number of investigators incorporated to the SNI.

Guanajuato, Gto., February 9, 2019.- With a call to women to convince them that they can develop fully in science, Dr. María Cristina del Rincón Castro, professor at the University of Guanajuato, reflected on the challenges they still face in order to cope as researchers.

As part of the International Day of women and girls in science, held on February 11, Dr. Cristina del Rincón shared her experience and said that it is necessary to continue working "so that we may be considered equitably, not by the fact of being a woman, but to be scientists capable of occupying a position or a place. "

In her opinion, the main obstacles are in the workplace, since the number of women completing postgraduate studies was slightly lower than that of men; the problem is that by graduating many women choose to take care of the home and their children precisely because they believe that they cannot reconcile both roles.

In this regard, she felt that while it is true that for women it is often more difficult to access job positions when competing with a man because the idea that they have other responsibilities in the home prevails, this should not be a reason to regret, but to continue to work for equity.

In her case, she said that from high school she knew she wanted to be a scientist and therefore decided to study the degree in biology and then a master's and PhD in biotechnology. "It was very clear as a goal, as a life project that wanted to devote myself to science, I decided to sacrifice many things."

Dr. Cristina del Rincón Castro is currently coordinator of the master's and PhD in Bioscience at the Campus Irapuato-Salamanca de la UG, so she recognizes that she has needed a lot of discipline and a lot of organization to make her life compatible as a mother of two Daughters, wife and her work as a research professor.

"Yes, it is hard work, but the key is the organization to program all the activities one has to do to reach the 24 hours of the day," she says.

In addition to her academic work, Dr. Cristina del Rincón has distinguished herself by participating in various activities with women's support organizations, and at the University of Guanajuato has taught talks related to sexual education and prevention of violence, because she acknowledges that emotional aspects can at one point affect professional development.

In her message in the framework of the International Day of Women and girls in science, she said that it is essential for women to be aware that they are perfectly capable of obtaining a university degree, "to be convinced that they can develop this type of activity", don't give up from the start or sabotage themselves, "is a constraint that I would want for them to erase. "

Women in Science

In the year 2015, the United Nations General Assembly decided to proclaim February 11 as the International Day of women and girls in science, to remember the role they play and to promote access and full and equitable participation in the development of knowledge.

Currently, it is estimated that less than 30 percent of researchers worldwide are women, so the University of Guanajuato has tried to promote scientific vocations without distinction of gender. One of the most emblematic efforts is the summers of science, where in the last edition (2018) 55.7% of the participants were women.

About the professors-researchers of the UG belonging to the National System of Researchers (SNI) there is a constant increase when comparing each year, being the 2016 the year that represented the largest increase by registering a growth of 24.56%. In 2018, 175 investigators were registered in the census of the SNI, 156 in 2017, 142 in 2016 and 114 in 2015.

At the University of Guanajuato there is a recognition to undertake a "renewed effort in order to generate an enabling climate —in legal terms, attitude, recognition and protection— to the full development of women, and therefore of our society".

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