Break gender stereotypes that link science to masculinity and expose young generations to positive role models – women engineers, astronauts and researchers.
That’s the call of Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Director of UN Women, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, ahead of International Day of Women and Girls in Science, which will be celebrated on Tuesday, February 11.
She said that science will be essential for decent work and jobs of the future, including in the green economy, and it can create a market for women’s innovative ideas and products. However, she is adamant that there is still a long way to go to tackle the challenges that remain for women and girls in science.
Less than 30 per cent of the world’s researchers are women, with studies showing that women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) are published less, paid less for their research and do not advance as far as men in their careers.
“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 institutionalising organisational cultures that enable women to advance in these fields,” she stressed.
“This year, we have an opportunity to work together across sectors to address these challenges. As we mark the 25th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (1995), the most visionary agenda and roadmap for women’s and girls’ rights, we need to reflect on the ways in which the rapid spread of digital technologies has reshaped every aspect of public and private life in the decades since, and what this means for the ongoing struggle to achieve gender equality in science.
“This is a vital part of UN Women’s Generation Equality campaign, which is assembling six diverse Action Coalitions to tackle the unfinished business of gender equality. One of these will be focused on ‘Technology and Innovation for Gender Equality’, with the aim of catalysing 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 pointed out.
Furthermore, the UN Women Executive Director expressed that generation equality is a chance to ensure that the business community, including those in the STEM sectors, has a stake in and a responsibility for gender equality and women’s empowerment in the workplace, marketplace and community. (TL)