Gender equality making progress at Tec: 32% of directors are now women

“It’s shifting. There have never been so many women in leadership positions in the institution’s history,” said Inés Saénz, the Tec’s Vice President of Inclusion, Social Impact, and Sustainability, to CONECTA.

Tec de Monterrey has presented the progress of its Gender Equality Plan (GEP) five years after its creation and implementation.

During that time, the percentage of women in leadership positions rose from 18% to 32%, as part of 31 actions implemented to achieve gender equality. The commitment is to reach 40% by 2030 and continue making progress.

“This report does show progress but also gaps and opportunities for promoting a more just and inclusive university culture,” said Saénz at the event, acknowledging what remains to be done on behalf of the institution.

How the Tec is achieving gender equality

The GEP achieved 74% overall progress on all the proposed actions, of which 45% were achieved, while 23% showed significant progress, and 6% of the actions showed partial progress.

The progress of the GEP was divided into 4 approaches:

1. Gender Equality Policies and Guidelines
2. Female Leadership and Development
3. Training and Research with Gender Perspective
4. Eradication of Gender Violence and Discrimination

Jessica González, the Tec’s Vice President of Integrity and Compliance, presented the progress of approaches 1 and 2, while Hugo Garza, Vice President of Strategy, did the same for approaches 3 and 4.

1.- Gender Equality Policies and Guidelines: 61% progress

According to the report, this approach made 61% progress, with the mapping of the institution’s policies and guidelines for integrating the gender perspective.

“The Vice Presidency for Integrity has institutionalized the idea that every new policy must include a gender perspective,” González said.

What’s more, it was mentioned that the Mujer Tec Award has become an institution and has already been held 13 times.

“As of 2022, we invited female professors to participate in the Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU) mentoring program to support the empowerment of aspiring women leaders.”

Furthermore, inclusive language guidelines and accessible content have been provided, events have been held, and equality and inclusion training has been offered to the institution’s various teams.

“This report shows progress, (but) also gaps and opportunities for promoting a more just and inclusive university culture.” - Inés Sáenz

2.- Female Leadership and Development: 71% progress

This approach had a 71% compliance rate, with an 18% to 32% rise in women in leadership positions since 2020.

“Since 2019, the Impulsa Committee has been working to promote a gender perspective in our processes and decision-making in terms of equality.

The Impulsa Committee is part of five DEIB (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging) Advisory Committees from the Center for the Recognition of Human Dignity to promote inclusion in the educational community,” Jessica said.

In 2021, the Impulsa Network was launched with the aim of creating a community of women at the Tec focused on professional development, leadership, and mentoring.

3.- Training and Research with Gender Perspective: 67% progress

Six specific actions were proposed for this approach, and 67% progress was made.

Curriculum mapping was carried out to identify subjects with a gender perspective.

“Currently, a team of teachers and academic departments is working to incorporate a gender and inclusion perspective into the 2026 plans,” said Hugo Garza.

Six courses to raise awareness of human dignity were created, which are available to the entire community, and the Ingenia Committee strengthened the participation of women in science and engineering through mentoring and events.

4.- Eradication of Gender Violence and Discrimination: 86% progress

86% of the objectives in this area were achieved, which include progress on prevention campaigns, and the improvement and strengthening of human dignity care pathways.

“Reporting channels were redesigned and internal surveys were optimized to address issues related to gender-based violence.

“With great pride, we became the first educational institution in Mexico to sign the Safe Campus partnership with UN Women for the prevention of gender-based violence.”

During the event, it was specified that the Gender Equality Plan was created after signing an alliance with UN Women to join the global HeForShe movement and it was developed using methodology provided by UN Women.

The Gender Equality Plan

The Gender Equality Plan aims to create and implement policies and actions to drive equal opportunities for all members of the community.

“We must acknowledge the progress we’ve made, but we must also recognize that we still have a long way to go,” explained David Garza, President of the Tecnológico de Monterrey Education Group.

Garza emphasized that the Tec’s senior management now has parity, consisting of half male and half female deans, as well as half male and half female regional vice presidents.

“I’d like to remember and acknowledge the importance of the principle we talked about: putting people first and recognizing the dignity of each individual,” said Juan Pablo Murra, Rector of Tec de Monterrey.

UN Women: Ally of Tec de Monterrey

Lourdes Colinas, National Program Officer at UN Women Mexico, spoke with CONECTA about how universities should incorporate a gender perspective at all levels and areas.

“Incorporating this gender perspective is crucial not only for teaching and research but also for institutional management. It shouldn’t be an isolated issue but should truly influence both management and leadership positions.

“There must be gender parity at all levels of decision-making, and we’ve seen today clear examples of how progress has been made in this area. We must also promote violence prevention,” she said.

She explained that this is achieved through policies and protocols, in addition to monitoring these actions with indicators to assess progress and address gaps.

“With this equality plan, Tec de Monterrey demonstrates this serious commitment, which is also witnessed by other universities and academic institutions, who are also participating in the gender equality movement.

At UN Women, we’re very pleased that the Tec is making this commitment, not just with words but with concrete actions, and we’re delighted to collaborate,” she concluded.

The report’s presentation took place in the Main Hall of the Rector’s Building on May 12.

Watch the report presentation here:

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