UN Secretary-General message on International Day of Women and Girls in Science

On the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, marked annually on 11th February, the UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, said that science and gender equality are both vital for the achievement of the internationally agreed development goals, including the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

He said that on this International Day, he urged commitment to end bias, to create greater investments in science, technology, engineering and math education, STEM, 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.

"Science and gender equality are both vital for the achievement of the internationally agreed development goals, including the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Over the past 15 years, the global community has made a lot of effort in inspiring and engaging women and girls in science. Unfortunately, women and girls continue to be excluded from participating fully in science. According to a study conducted in 14 countries, the probability of female students graduating with a Bachelor’s Degree, Master’s Degree or Doctorate in science-related fields are 18 percent, 8 percent and 2 percent respectively, while male student figures hit 37 percent, 18 percent and 6 percent," he added.

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