Women and girls in science are significant agents of change, yet they remain underrepresented, underfunded, and undervalued in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).
Today, only one in three scientists is a woman. According to the UN, despite making up a third of researchers globally, women receive significantly smaller research grants than their male counterparts. In national science academies, the numbers are even starker—only 12 percent of members are women.
The lack of gender equality in science is not just a problem that affects women. It also limits scientific progress and hamstrings a country’s development and efforts to build peaceful societies.
This year, the commemoration of the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, celebrated annually on February 11, was marked under the theme ‘Unpacking STEM Careers: Her Voice in Science’.
While women can contribute equally to science, gender equality remains elusive. A significant gender gap continues to persist throughout the years at all levels of STEM disciplines all over the world.
Although the number of girls in basic education has increased over the years, compared to boys, they still face challenges to fully tap into educational opportunities.
The leaky pipeline becomes evident as girls move up their academic levels. In high school and beyond, fewer girls and women tend to pursue STEM courses.
While much attention has been paid to the leaky tertiary and higher education pipeline, the focus must be redirected to the earlier levels—early learning, primary, and high school— the gatekeeping levels that feed STEM transitions.
As these challenges are addressed, considerations should be made to ensure global balance in access, equity, and equality. As things stand, there are intra-and inter-country disparities globally concerning the participation of girls and women in STEM.
While higher-income countries have higher enrolment in STEM at the basic education level, they also experience a leaky pipeline at the higher education and career levels.
Countries in sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, the Middle East, and South Asia experience gender disparities in basic education levels.
This is protracted by inter-community and regional conflicts, income inequalities, cultural norms and biases that emphasise stereotypical gender roles, a lack of role models, gendered pedagogies, and insufficient STEM opportunities for girls and women.
Index report indicates that there has been no improvement in biases against women over the last 10 years. In higher education, fewer women enroll in STEM courses than men and experience challenges during matriculation, including insufficient mentoring, academic support, and gendered pedagogical approaches.
Beyond the educational sector, women continue to face workplace limitations, including unequal pay, limited promotion opportunities, and work-life balance, especially for young mothers.
The exclusion of women in STEM leadership has broader societal impacts, with women being limited in their capacity to be creative and innovative.
If left unaddressed, this gender imbalance and disparity could create a perpetual cycle where girls are discouraged from joining STEM careers, perpetuating this generational inequality.
In Africa, the African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC) continues to advocate for gender equity in STEM as a moral and strategic necessity for Africa’s sustainable development.
Women’s participation in STEM is critical to enhancing innovation, strengthening research capacity, and addressing the continent’s most pressing health, technological, and environmental challenges.
The Centre drives key initiatives through its programmes to level the playing field internally and in Africa’s research ecosystem. In its flagship research capacity-strengthening programme, the Consortium for Advanced Research Training in Africa (CARTA), active since 2008, the Centre fosters gender inclusivity in doctoral training and supervision.
CARTA’s gender-responsive policies and mechanisms ensure that women researchers gain access to higher education opportunities and receive mentorship and career support to sustain their progression in STEM.
We call for increased advocacy for institutional and policy changes, enhanced mentorship and support for women and girls, closing of the gender pay gap, especially at senior levels of leadership, and the inclusion of more women publishers in high-impact, high-level journals.
Beyond training, APHRC has championed systemic reforms, including a gender-lensed supervision and mentorship framework developed in collaboration with the Inter-University Council for East Africa.
While significant progress has been achieved over the years, achieving gender equality in science remains challenging. Women’s voices in science matter—not only for advancing knowledge but also for developing inclusive and sustainable solutions to global challenges.
Systemic changes are needed to ensure that the STEM field is inclusive and equitable for all. To address the world's problems fully, women must be involved in making decisions. This year’s commemoration is a moment to pause and reflect on what must be done to attain gender parity in STEM.
