It's February 11 and it's International Day of Women and Girls in Science. To mark the occasion the Secretary-General of the UN António Guterres and the Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Director of UN Women, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka have released statements about the imbalance in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM).
"Over the past 15 years, the global community has made a lot of effort in inspiring and engaging women and girls in science. Yet women and girls continue to be excluded from participating fully in science," Guterres said in a statement.
"At present, less than 30 percent of researchers worldwide are women," he noted, citing UNESCO data (2014 - 2016) which states that only around 30 percent of all female students select STEM-related fields in higher education.
"Globally, female students’ enrolment is particularly low in ICT (3 percent), natural science, mathematics and statistics (5 percent) and in engineering, manufacturing, and construction (8 percent)," he added.
Guterres said long-standing biases and gender stereotypes are steering girls and women away from science-related fields. "As in the real world, the world on-screen reflects similar biases," he said.
Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, executive director of UN Women, also highlighted the same challenges.
"We still have a long way to go to tackle the challenges that remain for women and girls in science," she said. "Less than 30 percent of the world’s researchers are women, with studies showing that women in STEM are published less, paid less for their research and do not advance as far as men in their careers."
Mlambo-Ngcuka called for more young people to be exposed to positive role models; women engineers, astronauts, and researchers.
"We need a dedicated strategy not only for increasing the representation of women in the talent pipeline for STEM jobs but also for ensuring that they thrive, incentivizing them to remain in these high-paying jobs and institutionalizing organizational cultures that enable women to advance in these fields," she said.
As part of the UN Women’s Generation Equality campaign, ‘Technology and Innovation for Gender Equality’ will focus on action for game-changing approaches that provide new opportunities to women and girls, while addressing barriers to connectivity, digital inclusion, and digital equality.
Mlambo-Ngcuka said 500 tech companies have already pledged to advance gender equality and women’s empowerment in their institutions. "This year, we call on science and tech companies to follow their steps; and for the investor community to steer their investments to companies that have adopted these Principles," she added.
Guterres said that rising to the challenges of the 21st century means harnessing the world's full potential. That requires dismantling gender stereotypes, he noted. "It means supporting the careers of women scientists and researchers."
He also said that the Women’s Empowerment Principles, developed by UN Women, offer guidance for companies and others.
"In this year, in which we mark the 25th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, let us bring new urgency to promoting women’s and girls’ access to science education, training, and jobs. On this International Day of Women and Girls in Science, let’s pledge to end the gender imbalance in science," he said.
