Letter of the Day | Closing the gender gap in science requires breaking stereotypes

THE EDITOR, Madam:

“ In many places in the world, though still imperfect, conditions for women entering academia have improved markedly in the last half-century. Importantly, however, we should not forget that this is far from true for many countries and societies, and especially in many places in the world, ... and especially women of colour, women from poor or marginalised communities and sexual minorities and disabled women are still facing immense hurdles, even in superficially egalitarian environments.”- Katarína Juríková.

Despite progress across all disciplines in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), girls globally continue to be disadvantaged and disproportionately impacted by various barriers which are both rooted in historical and structural forms of discrimination. Closing the gender gap in science requires breaking stereotypes, promoting role models to inspire girls, supporting women’s advancement through targeted programmes, and fostering inclusive environments through policies and actions that promote inclusion, diversity and equity.

Globally, girls and women continue to be discouraged from entering career choices rooted in the sciences. Additionally, girls continue to face systemic, discriminatory practices within global education systems, and this is problematic.

Even though women have made tremendous progress towards increasing their participation in higher education, they are still under-represented in those fields associated with STEM. Gender equality has always been a core issue for the United Nations. Importantly, gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls will make a crucial contribution not only to economic development of the world, but to progress across all the goals and targets of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

In 2015, the United Nations General Assembly declared February 11 as the International Day of Women and Girls in Science. On Tuesday, February 11, 2025, we celebrated its 10th anniversary.

This year’s theme, ‘Unpacking STEM Careers: Her Voice in Science’, highlights the importance of empowerment and ensuring women have equal access to opportunities.

Undoubtedly, more investments in STEM in general terms are needed. School laboratories must be retrofitted and adequately maintained. Additionally, there must be a conscious and calculated effort to motivate more women and girls in STEM.

Let us be mindful that only one in three scientists is a woman. The day highlights the vital contributions of women in STEM and underscores the need to remove barriers to their full participation. Finally, the lack of gender equality in science is not just a problem that affects women. A culture void of gender equality also limits scientific progress and hamstrings a country’s development and its efforts to build peaceful societies.

In the words of Teresa Paneque Carreño: women are half of the world’s population. Science, in any field, tries to solve questions for all of humanity by facing problems from multiple points of views. The optimal way to do good scientific work is by having groups that represent the global population, and women should be equivalent to half the field.

WAYNE CAMPBELL

waykam@yahoo.com