Santo Domingo. – The Vice Minister of Higher Education, Dr. Carmen Evarista Matías, highlighted the role of women as protagonists of academic and scientific transformation in the Dominican Republic.
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“Female leadership in higher education is not only a reality, but a transformative force. Women are occupying high-level positions, researching, innovating, and contributing with their own light to national development,” said the vice minister. He added that this meeting represents an opportunity to reflect on the challenges that persist in terms of equity and full participation, while urging to continue promoting policies that foster equal opportunities and female leadership at all levels of the university system. “Academics, researchers, and managers are not here to claim a fight from the past, but to continue growing with strength, talent, and vision, in a society that requires their leadership to move forward,” emphasized Matías Pérez. Evarista Matías Pérez, underlined that more than 70% of the national university enrollment is made up of women, an indicator that reflects their growing role in academic, research and innovation life. “Women shine with their own light in the direction of universities and educational institutions. This panel is a tribute to their effort and their impact on the transformation of the system,” he indicated. In that sense, the rector of UNICDA, engineer Ramón Sosa, welcomed the participants and remembered the legacy of pioneers like Salomé Ureña and Evangelina Rodríguez, highlighting that “women not only participate: they lead, innovate and transform”. The first panel, “Challenges of Female Academic Leadership in Dominican HEIs: Lessons and Reflections”, brought together doctors Odile Camilo (UNIBE), Josefina Pimentel (IGLOBAL), Altagracia Núñez (UTE) and Marien Beard (IES-ENMP), under the moderation of doctor Josefina Pepín (UNICDA). The second, entitled “Situation and perspectives of Dominican female researchers: Where are we and where are we going?”, featured doctors Ysabel Noemí Tejeda (UASD), Leyda Brea (PUCMM), Celsa Albert (UCSD), Dinorah Mejía Tejada (UCE) and Yanet Jiminián Mata (UAPA), moderated by Dr. Helen Hasbún (UASD). The meeting, organized by MESCyT and the Universidad Domínico Americano, was part of the activities of the Month for the Elimination of Violence against Women, reaffirming the commitment of both institutions to gender equality, the strengthening of research, and the formation of a higher education that is more just, inclusive, and competitive.
