Girls' Day experience at the University of Zaragoza: attracting women to technology

The proportion of women in engineering and technology degrees does not reach 30%, and multiple activities are performed worldwide to change this situation. This paper presents the effects of the Girls' Day activities organized at University of Zaragoza (Aragón, Spain) yearly from 2008. It consists on a day where women who play important roles, both in business and research worlds, bring students of secondary education closer to engineering and technology. After five editions, Girls' Day has achieved an extraordinary impact: it has increased the visibility of female engineers in Aragón; more female students know what engineering is about and are willing to become one; the government and other institutions have pushed and supported the event and a collaboration network of female engineers in the region has been established.