February 11th
Building a future for women in science
The year 2025 marks the 10th anniversary of the International Day of Women and Girls in Science and the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and its Platform for Action, Two important steps in promoting gender equality and the empowerment of women around the world.
Learn more here:
English:
UNESCO | 2025 International Day of Women and Girls in Science
UN | International Day of Women and Girls in Science, 11 February
French:
UNESCO | Journée internationale des femmes et des filles de science 2025
UN | Journée internationale des femmes et des filles de science
11 février
Unpacking STEM Careers: Her Voice in Science
UNESCO Headquarters, Paris, France | read more | Link to UNESCO
Today, only one in three scientists is a woman.
Achieving gender equality in science will be essential to addressing the complex global challenges we face, such as
Climate change,
Loss of biodiversity,
Extreme poverty
The need to implement ethical approaches to artificial intelligence.
The complexities of the 21st century require multidimensional approaches and new perspectives – so it is imperative that both men and women contribute to science.
However, despite progress over the past decades, gender equality remains difficult to achieve in this area; it even limits countries’ scientific advances and efforts to build peaceful societies
At the present time, achieving gender equality in science is all the more necessary as we are seeing in some countries
- An increase in the level of access to education and knowledge
- An increase in the number of women scientists living in areas affected by conflict or disaster.
Call to Action 2025
English: UNESCO Call to Action: Closing the gender gap in science
French: Appel à l’action de l’UNESCO : combler l’écart entre les genres en science
Spanish: Llamada a la acción de la UNESCO: cerrar la brecha de género en la ciencia
This Call for Action is addressed to the global community, policy makers, decision-makers in governments, universities, educational and research institutions, funding agencies, private sector and philanthropic organizations.
It calls for ensuring that girls are never discouraged from fulfilling their aspirations to become scientists and that they understand that these goals can be achieved
It also calls for removing the barriers that prevent women from realizing their full potential in science, to break down the glass ceiling that closes the door to leadership positions in scientific systems around the world.
This Call for Action draws on the thoughts and contributions of various stakeholders, including representatives from international organizations, government institutions, non-governmental organizations and universities, and the private and public sectors.
