In December 2013, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution recognizing that gender equality can only be achieved if women and girls have unfettered access to science and technology as an essential tool to their empowerment. The International Day of Women and Girls in Science was born.
Since its first observance in 2016, the day has had an annual theme, and the one for 2023 is ‘Innovate. Demonstrate. Elevate. Advance. Sustain. (I.D.E.A.S.)’. Similarly to previous themes, it links gender equity in science to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Although the relationship to SDGs around themes such as clean water or clean energy is clear, its connection to SDG 1 — ending poverty — may be less obvious.
A World Bank report found that educating girls is one of the most successful ways to promote economic growth and to end intergenerational poverty (World Development Report 2012: Gender Equality and Development; World Bank, 2012). This feels particularly poignant only months after girls and women in Afghanistan were, once again, banned from attending school or university.
Many girls who are interested in science do not grow up to be scientists. There are many reasons for this, but societal perceptions are among them. Women scientists are still seen as the exception — or the odd one out. And who wants to be that? Perhaps broadening our definition of a woman in science can normalize science as a pursuit for girls and women.
Read more at
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41567-023-01971-2
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