This study emerged as an initiative of the Latin American Regional Committee of the International Brain Research Organization (IBRO-LARC) during its 2018 annual meeting held in Colima, Mexico. During this meeting, IBRO-LARC members Cecilia Bouzat (chair, Argentina), Gustavo Murer (Argentina), Jorge Quillfeldt (Brasil), Rosalinda Guevara and Luisa Rocha (México), Adrián Palacios (Chile), and Raúl Russo and Ana Silva (Uruguay), agreed to promote a joint venture with the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC or CEPAL for its acronym in Spanish) to gather information about gender balance among Latin American neuroscientists.
In August, 2019, IBRO and ECLAC signed a Cooperation Agreement to conduct this study, which has been directed by the Director of ECLAC office in Montevideo, Verónica Amarante, with the participation of Cecilia Tomassini and Julieta Zurbrigg (ECLAC) and coordinated by the IBRO-LARC members Cecilia Bouzat (Universidad Nacional del Sur, CONICET, Argentina), Adrian Palacios (Universidad de Valparaíso, Chile), and Ana Silva (Universidad de la República del Uruguay). The study shows an anonymous survey questionnaire for members of scientific societies of neuroscience of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Cuba, Mexico, and Uruguay. The results describe the development of scientific careers for men and women related to their family life and the perception of obstacles to success.
This report aims to explore for the first time, the gender gap in the career path of neuroscientists from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Cuba, Mexico and Uruguay associated with the International Brain Research Organization in Latin America (IBRO-LARC). A convenience sample was used to gather quantitative information about neuroscientists ́ academic and family life, seeking to capture the interaction between the gender roles of men and women and their work as researchers. The collected data represents around 33% of the total members from national societies of neuroscience of six countries of Latin America. The data confirm that gender gaps in neurosciences follow similar trends to those observed in other research areas.
