International Day of Women and Girls in Science

For the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, as well as other internationally accepted development goals, science and gender equality are essential. The international community has worked very hard in the last 15 years to encourage and involve women and girls in science. However, girls and women are still not allowed to actively participate in science.

Global statistics of women participation in science and technical subjects
Currently, there are fewer than 30% women researchers in the world. UNESCO data from 2014 to 2016 show that just 30% of all female college students chose STEM-related majors. The proportion of female students is particularly low in ICT (3%), natural science, mathematics, and statistics (5%), as well as engineering, manufacturing, and construction (8 per cent). Girls and women are being discouraged from careers in science-related sectors by entrenched biases and gender stereotypes. According to the 2015 Gender Bias Without Borders study by the Geena Davis Institute, only 12% of on-screen characters with recognizable STEM jobs were women, reflecting the same biases that exist in the real world.

In order to achieve full and equal access to and participation in science for women and girls, and further achieve gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls, the United Nations General Assembly adopted resolution A/RES/70/212 declaring 11 February as the International Day of Women and Girls in Science.

Suyog Dhakal