Maria Urbina

Peruvian educator who pioneered women's access to technical education in 1940s South America

Maria Urbina (1905-1975) was a visionary educator who transformed technical education in Peru through her establishment of the first vocational school for women in Latin America. Born in Arequipa to a working-class family, she witnessed the limited opportunities available to women in technical fields. In 1943, she founded the Escuela Técnica Femenina de Arequipa, which trained women in engineering, agriculture, and mechanics - fields previously reserved for men.

Urbina's pedagogical innovations included hands-on workshops and partnerships with local industries, preparing students for roles in Peru's emerging manufacturing sector. Her school became a model for gender-inclusive technical education, inspiring similar institutions across South America. The 1950s curriculum she developed is still referenced in UNESCO's gender equality case studies (UNESCO GEM Report).

Her advocacy extended to policy changes, including the 1958 law requiring equal access to technical training for all genders. Urbina's 1963 publication Women in the Technical Workforce: A Blueprint for Progress (ISBN:978-84-9028-050-2) became a seminal text in labor rights discourse. The Maria Urbina Technical Institute in Lima now bears her name, continuing her mission (Instituto Tecnológico).

Unique among her contemporaries, Urbina combined feminist principles with pragmatic industrial strategies. Her work predated second-wave feminism by decades, making her a precursor to global movements for gender equity in STEM. Historian Ana María Arévalo credits her with creating Peru's first female engineering graduates in 1955 (Hispanic American Historical Review). The 2019 documentary Breaking Gears: Maria Urbina's Revolution explores her legacy, though no official English release exists.