CaixaBank and Microsoft Ibérica presented the WONNOW Awards at the University of Navarra, an initiative that promotes talent and recognizes female excellence in technical university careers. After the success of the first edition, in which 260 female students from 59 Spanish universities participated, both entities will award this year the 11 best female students enrolled in Degrees STEM -Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics- from 79 Spanish universities.

The act of presentation, which took place in the Hall of Degrees of Office of the Executive Council, was attended by Ana Díez Fontana, territorial director of CaixaBank in Navarra; Alfonso Sánchez-Tabernero, President of the University of Navarra; and Pilar Lostao, Vice President of International Office and Professor of Physiology. Also participating were David Luquin, manager of Innovation Factory, the University's Entrepreneurship and Innovation Unit, as well as a representation of students from the academic center.

The WONNOW Awards recognize, on the one hand, the student with the best academic transcript , who will receive a cash prize of 10,000 euros, and on the other hand, 10 students who will have access to a paidscholarship to work in CaixaBank and participate in a mentoring program of Microsoft Ibérica.

Students can submit their candidacy until June 16 through the website www.wonnowawards.com. In order to choose the winners, in addition to their academictranscript , their experience staff will be taken into account. Those interested must complete a form, which includes some questions to examine their merits and know their profile, as well as attach their curriculum and the grade average of the first 180 credits passed. 

The territorial director of CaixaBank, Ana Díez Fontana, highlighted the importance of these awards, "which contribute to the development of a fairer society, promoting the presence of women in technical Degrees , programs of study that have an increasingly essential role in the development of our society. The values of social commitment, equality and excellence that characterize CaixaBank are reflected in these awards".

For his part, the University of Navarra's President appreciated the impetus behind this initiative to increase the percentage of women in STEAM careers and achieve true equality. "It is a matter of justice but it is also good for organizations. Organizations grow when there is diversity in their teams," she said.

Pilar Lostao, Vice President of International Office of the academic center, highlighted the work of the University of Navarra to promote the presence of women in these areas of work "with the goal to achieve a better society, a world of equity in which the contribution of women is valued". In this sense, she mentioned the Women for Science and Technology initiative, a platform for the support and visibility of women in the fields of science and technology.

Entities committed to diversity

The WONNOW Awards aim to promote diversity in a sector core topic and reward the excellence of women students of Degrees STEM. It is a transversal project that aims to value the effort and commitment of women who are committed to this subject of university careers. Through them, CaixaBank and Microsoft Ibérica are committed to talent and diversity.

According to UNESCO 's report "Cracking the code: the Education of girls and women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM)", currently only 28% of all researchers worldwide are women. The gender gap in participation in STEM programs of study to the detriment of girls is already apparent at Education childhood and becomes more visible at higher educational levels. At Education higher education, women represent only 35% of students enrolled in STEM-related fields.

Although the European Commission says that achieving parity between men and women in the digital industry would raise the European Union's GDP by about 9 billion euros per year, its latest study on women in the digital sector shows that 24 women out of every 1,000 graduate from programs of study ICT, and of these, only 6 work in the technology sector.