A girl looking into the sky with a telescope.
Women and girls play a critical role in science and technology communities and that their participation should be strengthened.
Photo:UNICEF Kazakhstan

 

We can all do our part to unleash our world’s enormous untapped talent – starting with filling classrooms, laboratories, and boardrooms with women scientists.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres

 

Innovate. Demonstrate. Elevate. Advance. Sustain.
( I.D.E.A.S.)

Bringing Everyone Forward for Sustainable and Equitable Development

This year, the International Day of Women and Girls in Science  (IDWGIS) will focus on the role of Women and Girls and Science as relates to the Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs) in review at the forthcoming High-Level Political Forum (HLPF), namely SDG 6 (clean water and sanitation), SDG 7 (affordable and clean energy), SDG 9 (industry, innovation, and infrastructure), SDG 11 (sustainable cities and communities) and SDG17 (means of implementation), while following up on discussions on water held during from the “Water Unites Us” 7th IDWGIS, the 2nd High-Level International Conference on the International Decade for Action on Water for Sustainable Development 2018-2028, held in Dushanbe, and the 2nd UN Ocean Conference and its High-Level Symposium on Water held in Lisbon, as a contribution for the 2023 UN Water Conference, and other UN Fora.

In doing so the IDWGIS aims to connect the International Community to Women and Girls in Science, strengthening the ties between science, policy, and society for strategies oriented towards the future. The IDWGIS will thus showcase best practices, strategies, applied solutions in addressing SDGs challenges and opportunities. It will also include for the first time a science workshop for Blind Girls and a session from the BLIND fellow SCIENTISTS on “Science in Braille: Making Science Accessible”.

women and girls in science

Get Involved

The 8th International Day of Women and Girls in Science Assembly will take place on 10 February 2023 at the United Nations Headquarters, New York City. Join women experts, youth, and professionals in dialogues and discussion to put Science, Technology, and Innovation at the heart of sustainable development programs. 

Register Now!

Background

A significant gender gap has persisted throughout the years at all levels of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines all over the world. Even though women have made tremendous progress towards increasing their participation in higher education, they are still under-represented in these fields.

Gender equality has always been a core issue for the United Nations. Gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls will make a crucial contribution not only to economic development of the world, but to progress across all the goals and targets of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, as well.

On 14 March 2011, the Commission on the Status of Women adopted a report at its fifty-fifth session, with agreed conclusions on access and participation of women and girls in education, training and science and technology, and for the promotion of women’s equal access to full employment and decent work. On 20 December 2013, the General Assembly adopted a resolution on science, technology and innovation for development, in which it recognized that full and equal access to and participation in science, technology and innovation for women and girls of all ages is imperative for achieving gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls.

Did you know?

  • Women are typically given smaller research grants than their male colleagues and, while they represent 33.3% of all researchers, only 12% of members of national science academies are women.
  • In cutting edge fields such as artificial intelligence, only one in five professionals (22%) is a woman.
  • Despite a shortage of skills in most of the technological fields driving the Fourth Industrial Revolution, women still account for only 28% of engineering graduates and 40% of graduates in computer science and informatics.
  • Female researchers tend to have shorter, less well-paid careers. Their work is underrepresented in high-profile journals and they are often passed over for promotion.

Stories

collage of portraits with title: Women scientists on the forefront of climate action

 

Women scientists on the forefront of climate action

Over the last few decades, the world’s understanding of climate change has improved exponentially thanks to science, technology and the dedication of some of the world’s top climate scientists. We pay tribute to the women who champion the science behind climate change. 

More stories

Related observances

End Violence against Women

Women and girls represent half of the world’s population and, therefore, also half of its potential. Gender equality, besides being a fundamental human right, is essential to achieve peaceful societies, with full human potential and sustainable development.

Women accounted for one in three (33%) researchers in 2018. They have achieved parity (in numbers) in life sciences in many countries and even dominate this field, in some cases. However, women remain a minority in digital information technology, computing, physics, mathematics and engineering. These are the fields that are driving the digital revolution and so, many of the jobs of tomorrow.

 

 

an abstract illustration of people engaged in an event

International days and weeks are occasions to educate the public on issues of concern, to mobilize political will and resources to address global problems, and to celebrate and reinforce achievements of humanity. The existence of international days predates the establishment of the United Nations, but the UN has embraced them as a powerful advocacy tool. We also mark other UN observances.