February 11 marked the 10th anniversary of the United Nations International Day of Women and Girls in Science. The initiative, an effort by the UN to close the gender gap in science, began in 2015 during the World Women’s Health and Development Forum. The resolution to honor women in science with a day of recognition has since been sponsored by more than 65 countries and received the approval of all UN member states.
Women are generally vastly underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields. In the United States, women account for only 29.3 percent of STEM federal workers, according to the US Equal Opportunity Employment Commission. Worldwide, the UN points out that even for women who have advanced in their fields, there can still be massive amounts of inequality. A 2022 study found that one in two female scientists has reported sexual harassment at work. Furthermore, the gender gap widens for women in senior positions, and science fields as a whole struggle with retaining women.
This year, at the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) headquarters in Paris, France, individuals from around the world celebrated the event in person and virtually. The organization hosted roundtables that featured female scientists from around the world speaking about their experiences.
The UNESCO celebration also featured a screening of the documentary, “Women of Science: These women who change our lives,” which tells the stories of six European women who have made an impact in their fields. Sarah Baatout, deputy director of the Nuclear Medical Applications Institute in Belgium and a featured subject of the movie, reflected on how important the recognition is: “The presence of women in a scientific team enriches its perspectives and insights. This increases the diversity and creativity of research.”
Last year, UNESCO increased its efforts with a call to action for member states to close the gender gap in science. They point out that although there has been some progress in the last decade, only one in three scientists is a woman across all countries and fields. The UN established three action areas in which they would like to see more improvement: visibility, opportunity, and equity in the workplace.
The visibility initiative involves empowering more women to enter scientific fields by increasing the prominence of female scientists as role models. This involves sharing more women’s contributions to science in textbooks, magazines, and social media, with the goal of removing gender stereotypes surrounding the makeup of a “typical” scientist.
The plan also calls for an increase in educational opportunities for young girls in science by incorporating hands-on experiences from an early age. It also encourages the UN’s partners to improve access to higher education by providing scholarships and aid for students to study STEM fields.
The third action is to promote workplaces that advance diversity and equity. This would require calling on employers to offer training on gender stereotypes and harassment, supporting a work-life balance for their employees, and actively recruiting candidates who are underrepresented in the field. It also suggests creating collaborative and welcoming research environments and partnering with female-led businesses in the private sector.
As progress continues, organizations continue to share success stories and form new goals for increased inclusivity. In 2019, 10-year-old Anya Daneez Khan spoke to the UN about what the world should aspire to accomplish: “The reason we celebrate this Day is to make sure it becomes not a story about exceptional women but a norm that girls belong and succeed in science and technology.”
