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In Latin America and the Caribbean, women are 1.6 times less likely to develop advanced digital skills and hold only 3 out of 10 jobs in the information and communication technology sector. Despite representing 40% of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) graduates, their participation in the labor market remains limited, according to United Nations data.

To highlight the role of women in supercomputing and promote their inclusion in the scientific and technological fields, the virtual talk, Latin American Women in HPC, was held. This initiative follows up on the actions proposed during the Workshop Women on HPC at the CARLA 2024 conference. CARLA is the annual event of the Advanced Computing Network of Latin America and the Caribbean (SCALAC), bringing together the high-performance computing (HPC) community in the region to foster collaboration and technological development. The talk, organized in collaboration with RedCLARA, addressed the challenges and opportunities for women in this field.

The event, moderated by Tania Altamirano, RedCLARA’s Academic Relations Manager, gathered over 70 participants and featured distinguished HPC experts from the region, including Paola Buitrago (Researcher at the Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center, USA), Paula Verghelet (Professor and Researcher at the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina), Carla Osthoff (Researcher at the National Laboratory for Scientific Computing, Brazil), Carmen Heras (Professor at the University of Sonora, Mexico), Cristina Boeres (Professor at the Fluminense Federal University, Brazil), Patricia Tissera (Professor at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile), Aletéia Araújo (Professor at the University of Brasília, Brazil), Genoveva Vargas-Solar (Researcher at the French National Centre for Scientific Research, France), and Gina Maestre (Professor at the University of Antioquia, Colombia).

The discussion opened with two key questions directed at the audience: How many women leaders in HPC in Latin America do you know? How can we provide them with support? Only 29% of attendees said they knew at least five female leaders in this field in the region. Regarding support strategies, the most highlighted were visibility, followed by mentorship, education, funding, and networking.

Supercomputing with a gender perspective

For Gina Maestre, the challenges of applying HPC to smart city development are enormous. These cities use technology and data analytics to optimize urban services such as transportation, energy, and security. Implementing these advancements without considering gender perspectives could potentially deepen and perpetuate existing inequalities.

"Only 20% of leadership positions in smart city governance are held by women, and they are rarely included in decision-making processes regarding digital infrastructure, mobility, and security," she emphasized.

Maestre also highlighted the importance of increasing the inclusion of girls and women in STEM, noting that female representation in these fields at universities remains low. "The challenge is to encourage girls and women to pursue STEM careers and achieve greater inclusion. There are still very few female students in these areas," she stated.

Cristina Boeres pointed out that, while other regions have progressed with gender equity in HPC, Latin America still faces barriers that discourage female participation. Initiatives like Include Meninas in Brazil aim to reverse this trend by fostering girls' and young women's interest in computing from elementary school to university.

The approach to increasing women’s participation in HPC seeks to ensure that technology is used transparently and equitably to solve social problems. Genoveva Vargas-Solar, for example, is developing a Justice Index to assess whether data centers adhere to equity principles and to propose fairer ways of allocating resources.

Challenges

Balancing personal life with a career in supercomputing remains a challenge, and some panelists brought this issue to the forefront. Astrophysicist Patricia Tissera, a specialist in galaxy formation and leader of the CIELO project (the chemo-dynamical properties of galaxies and the cosmic web), shared her experience of how it is possible to thrive in science without sacrificing family life. CIELO is an initiative focused on studying galaxy formation in the field, with a particular emphasis on their chemo-dynamical properties and interaction with the cosmic web.

Her work combines HPC and advanced algorithms to model galaxy evolution based on observations from ground-based and satellite telescopes. But beyond technology, Tissera called for transforming the sector's culture, advocating for greater investment in HPC infrastructure, the strengthening of computing ecosystems, and, most importantly, a real commitment to equity in science. She stressed that achieving this is not solely women's responsibility and that men’s involvement in family care is also crucial to building a more equal future in the scientific field.

Other panelists agreed on the importance of inspiring and mentoring girls and young women to join the world of supercomputing. They emphasized that representation and access to female role models are essential to changing the perception that HPC is an exclusive space for men. Among the strategies mentioned to build a more inclusive future in science and technology were early education, the creation of mentorship networks, and ensuring equitable conditions in academia and the workplace.

Carmen Heras pointed to another key challenge: "The enrollment of women in science, mathematics, and engineering declines over time. This is not just a trend but the result of economic factors, marriage, and other obstacles that persist. We must continue to encourage, support, and create opportunities for more women to stay and advance in STEM. Equity in science is essential for innovation and progress," she emphasized.

Latin American Women in HPC will continue during the CARLA 2025 conference, which will take place in September in Jamaica, further strengthening the visibility and participation of women in the sector.

Watch the full event: https://www.youtube.com/live/Uyv5uOCpaSs?si=CHeVgVQjYwC4DFV3