Day of Women in Science 2020:  Investing in women in STI for inclusive green growth

The international community will Tuesday commemorate the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, an annual awareness day commemorated every February 11, as part of the UN’s efforts to promote full and equal access to and participation in science for women and girls. 

 

 

The theme for the 2020 commemoration is: “Investment in Women and Girls in Science for Inclusive Green Growth,” which highlights the importance of encouraging a new generation of women and girl scientists to tackle major challenges of our time. The day is premised on the reality that science and gender equality are both vital for the achievement of internationally-agreed development goals including the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

This year, the celebration of the day at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris will attract experts from different sectors and backgrounds to discuss and examine the issue of gender gap in science, also drawing on the conclusions of the conference themed: “Global Approach to the Gender Gap in Mathematical, Computing, and Natural Sciences: How to Measure It, How to Reduce It?” held November 2019, at the Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) in Trieste, Italy.

In their joint message for the day, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, executive director of UN Women and Audrey Azoulay, director-general of UNESCO reaffirmed that: “By harnessing the creativity and innovation of all women and girls in science, and properly investing in inclusive STEM education, research and development and STI ecosystems, we have an unprecedented opportunity to leverage the potential of the Fourth Industrial Revolution to benefit society.”

“On this International Day, I urge commitment to end bias, greater investments in science, technology, engineering and math education for all women and girls as well as opportunities for their careers and longer-term professional advancement so that all can benefit from their ground-breaking future contributions,” said UN Secretary-General António Guterres.

The International Day of Women and Girls in Science is a clarion-call on why communities should ensure the participation of women and girls in Science and Technology and Innovation is supported and strengthened.