Praise, high attendance, revelations, and curiosities: the happy summary of the SES workshops

“It has been an eye-opening day,” “A valuable experience,” “We have to do it again” were some of the comments from attendees of the workshops on compliance with Law 21.369, organized by the SES. The first two days of these workshops brought together more than 60% of the country's higher education institutions.

The effort put forth by the Superintendency, primarily through its Supervision Division, was highly valued by the members of the Gender units from the institutions that attended and were able to share their experiences in implementing the law that prevents and sanctions sexual harassment, gender-based violence, and discrimination. They also had the opportunity to learn firsthand about the criteria and main conclusions gathered by the SES in its oversight role.

The first two sessions took place on Thursday, January 18th, and Friday, January 19th, in the multipurpose hall of the General Comptroller's Office of the Republic, and the cycle will conclude this Tuesday, the 23rd, with the last working group. And while most of the institutional representatives attended in person, it was also held online to allow participation from universities located in different regions.

The success of the workshops was not only confirmed by the positive feedback expressed on-site by numerous attendees, but also by the high interest shown by some institutions that sent four or six more representatives than permitted, requiring the organization to restrict access to avoid exceeding the programmed capacity of the auditorium.

The decision to divide all higher education institutions into three groups and form heterogeneous working groups, where universities, professional institutes, and technical training centers, both public and private, could share experiences, was one of the most applauded and valued aspects by the institutions. This was especially true for the smaller ones, which, unlike large universities belonging to associations where they can learn about other realities, were able to discover new and good practices here that will benefit their gender policies.

“It was also very revealing for us to learn about realities that weren't on our radar. For example, the experience of the training schools for the Armed Forces or institutions where their female students must complete six-month internships confined to a ship. These are very specific situations, and it's very important that we keep them in mind for our work,” states Ana Luisa Neira, head of the Supervision Division and a speaker at the three workshops. 

Weapons and an operation

The events were not without their curiosities, such as what happened on Friday with the representatives from the PDI (Investigations Police) school. “They attended carrying their service weapons, and even had to leave early because they were called to an operation,” recalls Bárbara Díaz, who also served as the master of ceremonies.

The experience of having organized these workshops also leaves SES with a great feeling that we are increasingly capable of taking on greater challenges. “We noticed that the experience on the first day was very good, which apparently spread among the institutions, and as a result, attendance on the second day was much higher, with some institutions even wanting to repeat the experience or add more people. That shows they saw serious work and found it very useful. I think it exceeded their expectations,” commented Margarita Zilleruelo and Rosario de la Cerda, two of the table moderators who helped lead discussions in the working groups.

Congratulations to everyone who contributed their efforts to make these workshops a success and strengthen the institucional image of the Superintendency.