ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the authors explore how grassroots movements influence women’s participation in Chilean higher education and describe overall patterns in the evolution of women’s participation in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) undergraduate programs. They begins by discussing a brief history of women’s participation in STEM disciplines and other related areas in Chile. The authors then introduce the main characteristics of the Chilean feminist movement, focusing on case of faculty of physical and mathematical science at the universidad de Chile. The system, under the authority of the ministry of education, operates admissions based on the national admissions tests, including tests in mathematics, language, sciences, and history and social sciences. The Chilean higher education system consists of 150 institutions divided into three major types: two-year programs, professional institutes and universities. The participation of women in STEM in Chilean higher education is unique and significant as their progress stems from social movements and scientific and intellectual movements internal to higher education.
