Training abroad, return to Mexico and professional practice of some Mexican women in the fields of engineering, physics and mathematics: motivations, challenges and strategies

Abstract

In this article we studied the academic training abroad of a group of Mexican women scientists, their return to the country, and their incorporation to and professional practice in public universities. We analyzed their motivations to take up their scientific careers, the main challenges they faced in the field of science, as well as the strategies they deployed as mechanisms of permanence and progress in those research spaces. We conducted semi-structured interviews with female scientists in the areas of engineering and physics-mathematics from three different generations, all of them members of Mexico’s National Research Network. Among their strategies for advancement we identified the ability to generate opportunities for access to resources and networks for their academic and professional development was identified.