Empowerment of female students in public universities in Peru: Bridging gender gaps; [Empoderamento estudantil feminino em universidades públicas do Peru: fechando as disparidades de gênero]

Gómez-Arteta I.; Escobar-Mamani F. · Revista Iberoamericana de Educacion Superior (2026) · DOI: 10.22201/iisue.20072872e.2026.49.1954

Resumen

The empowerment of women has been identified by the United Nations as a fundamental element in achieving gender equality; however, women still face significant disadvantages. The purpose of this study was to identify the level of empowerment among young women in public universities in Peru and to interpret the students’ perceptions about the factors that must be brought together for them to feel empowered. The study was conducted using a mixed-methods approach, with a sample of 1 276 female students enrolled in eight public universities in Peru. To collect quantitative data, the Instrument for Measuring Women’s Empowerment was used, and for the qualitative component, I made use of a virtual open forum. The results show that 59.6 % of the students have a moderate level of empowerment. Economic independence, autonomy in decision-making, and proficiency in ict are factors that contribute to women’s empowerment.

Instituciones: Universidad Nacional del Altiplano