FORUM: “Innovate. Demonstrate. Elevate. Advance. - Bringing communities Forward for sustainable and equitable development.International Day for Women and Girls in Science 2023.
The 8th International Day of Women and Girls in Science Assembly is organized, for the first time, around a number of fictitious communities that have their main impact on the SDGs reviewed in depth in 2023: SDG 6 (clean water and sanitation), SDG 7 (affordable and clean energy), SDG 9 (industry, innovation, and infrastructure), SDG 11 (sustainable cities and communities). Key stakeholders of these communities will be brought together for a substantive discussion on the means of implementation (SDG17): how to create the enabling environment for accelerated implementation of SDGS 7, 9 and 11, while keeping a continuous focus on SDG6, following up on the in-depth water discussions of the 7th IDWGIS of 2022. Follow the conversations with the hashtags: #11February, #WomeninScience; #GirlsinScience.
EVENTS: The Commemoration of International Day for Women and Girls in Science 2023 will be held on February 10th, 2023 - 8:00 am - 10 February 2023 - 1:00 pm at UNESCO in Nairobi, Kenya. The 8th Assembly aims to bridge between the International Community and women in science through linking their knowledge and expertise and its applications in a systematic, critical way for the 2030 agenda and its 17 global goals. The Assembly is bringing forward women in science, youth, experts, and professionals together with multi-stakeholder in dialogues and discussion for identifying conditions and tools to put Science, Technology, and Innovation at the heart of sustainable development programs, international relations, and public and private sectors strategies and implementation plans. The 8th Assembly aims to assist policymakers – at all levels whether in public or private sectors - to evolving a more mature relationship between science, policy, and society for strategies that they can commit to for the future. Read the concept note.
STATEMENTS
On this International Day of Women and Girls in Science, we highlight a simple equation: More women and girls in science equals better science.
Women and girls bring diversity to research, expand the pool of science professionals, and provide fresh perspectives to science and technology, benefiting everyone.
There is growing evidence that gender bias in science is leading to worse outcomes, from drug tests that treat the female body as an aberration, to search algorithms that perpetuate bias and discrimination.
Yet in too many places around the world, women and girls’ access to education is limited or denied completely.
As women look to progress in scientific careers, inequalities and discrimination continue to thwart their potential.
Women make up under a third of the workforce across science, technology, engineering, and maths and even less in cutting edge fields. Just one in five professionals working on Artificial Intelligence is a woman.
We must – and we can – do more to promote women and girl scientists:
Through scholarships, internships, and training programmes that provide a platform to succeed.
Through quotas, retention incentives, and mentorship programmes that help women overcome entrenched hurdles and build a career.
And crucially, by affirming women’s rights and breaking down stereotypes, biases, and structural barriers.
We can all do our part to unleash our world’s enormous untapped talent – starting with filling classrooms, laboratories, and boardrooms with women scientists.
- U.N.Secretary-General.
Science is many things: a study of natural, physical and social phenomena; a process to test hypotheses and draw conclusions; a journey of discovery to understand the world’s many mysteries. But what science should be is equitable, diverse and inclusive. It should be for all and open to all, especially women. Today, just one in three researchers is a woman, according to the latest UNESCO Science Report. In higher education, women represent just over 35 per cent of graduates in STEM-related fields, according to the UNESCO Institute for Statistics. If these gender inequalities are so significant, it is because they are deeply rooted in our societies. It is because of the persistence of gender stereotypes and prejudices, which sometimes persuade girls that scientific studies are not for them, despite their tremendous potential.At UNESCO, where we work to build peace in the minds of men and women, addressing these stereotypes is a priority – because more women in science means better science. This conviction underpins all our work in this domain, and is enshrined in our Recommendation on Open Science, adopted by all our Member States in 2021.This vigilance is all the more necessary at a time when equal access to education can never be taken for granted – as we saw recently, when women in Afghanistan were brutally deprived of their right to learn and teach, including in higher education. UNESCO condemns this violation of a fundamental right and calls for it to be restored without delay.Today, all around the world, UNESCO is working to foster environments that encourage girls and women to study scientific topics – for example by supporting a scientific mentorship programme in East Africa. To date, it has reached 11 million students, especially girls. UNESCO also seeks to break down stereotypes, by raising awareness of women scientists who are blazing new trails. Through our 25-year partnership with the L’Oréal Foundation, we have honoured over 120 exceptional women scientists from around the world, five of whom have also received the Nobel Prize. As role models, they are examples for young women to follow – underlining that they too can achieve excellence. On this International Day of Women and Girls in Science, let’s reiterate this fundamental message: women need science, and science needs women. Only by tapping into all sources of knowledge, all sources of talent, can we unlock the full potential of science, and rise to the challenges of our time.
UNESCO Director-General.
-Message from the Executive Director of UN Women, on the occasion of the International Day of Women and Girls in Science; 11 February 2023.
EVENT
The Royal Academy of Science International Trust (RASIT), and co-organizing Member States are celebrating the International Day of Women and Girls in Science (IDWGIS), on 10 February 2023 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. This will be the 8th Assembly, pursuant to the adoption of Resolution A/RES/70/212 on the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, on December 22, 2015, aimed at promoting equality in science, technology, and innovation for socio-economic sustainable development, in line with the 2030 Agenda and its SDGs.
The 8th Assembly is co organized by the Permanent Missions of Chile, Lebanon, Malta, Poland, Portugal, the Philippines, Rwanda, Slovakia, and Spain to the United Nations and co sponsored by the Permanent Missions of Andorra, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cyprus, Dominican Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Finland, France, Georgia, Honduras, Hungary, Kenya, the Maldives, Romania, Republic of Korea, San Marino, Slovenia, Tajikistan Tanzania and Turkiye to the United Nations, as well as the African Union the League of Arab States United Nations Conference on Trade and Development UNCTAD the International Telecommunication Union ITU United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization UNESCO and the World Intellectual Property Organization WIPO.
This year, the IDWGIS will focus on the role of Women and Girls and Science as relates to the SDGs in review at the forthcoming High-Level Political Forum (HLPF), namely SDG 6 (clean water and sanitation), SDG 7 (affordable and clean energy), SDG 9 (industry, innovation, and infrastructure), SDG 11 (sustainable cities and communities) and SDG17 (means of implementation), while following up on discussions on water held during from the “Water Unites Us” 7th IDWGIS, the 2nd High-Level International Conference on the International Decade for Action on Water for Sustainable Development 2018-2022, held in Dushanbe, and the 2nd UN Ocean Conference and its High-Level Symposium on Water held in Lisbon, as a contribution for the 2023 UN Water Conference, and other UN Fora.
In doing so the IDWGIS aims to connect the International Community to Women and Girls in Science, strengthening the ties between science, policy, and society for strategies oriented towards the future. The IDWGIS will thus showcase best practices, strategies, applied solutions in addressing SDGs challenges and opportunities. It will also include for the first time a science workshop for Blind Girls and a session from the BLIND fellow SCIENTISTS on “Science in Braille: Making Science Accessible”.
The 8th Assembly of the IDWGIS will feature two high-level panels and four interactive conversations with distinguished representatives from governments, inter-governmental organization, the private sector, academia, and our fellow blind and deaf scientists. The voice of Girls in Science 4 SDGs International Platform and youth will be present in every conversation.
In Panel Discussion 1, participants will engage in interactive discussions, respectively focusing on: (i) sustainable cities and communities (SDG 11); (ii) transportation and logistics (SDG 7); (iii) business and industry (SDG 9); and, (iv) a space for sustainable development, with a focus on SDG 6. SDG6 and SDG17 will be addressed in a cross-cutting manner. A Cansu SITE representative will provide the water lens in each conversation. Additionally, relevant experts will be invited to offer their input on SDG17, as well as on financing sustainable solutions. Finally, in fulfilment of RASIT’s mission of bringing everyone forward, the importance of multilingualism will also be highlighted.
In Panel Discussion 2, RASIT and UN Member States, departments and agencies will celebrate the 8th anniversary of the #February11 Global Movement through a high-level panel entitled “Think Science. Think Peace”.
CONVERSATIONS & PANEL DISCUSSIONS
PANEL 1: Equipping Communities for Sustainable and Equitable Development.
- Conversation I: Transforming Cities and Infrastructure for Sustainable Future.
- Conversation II: The Road to Sustainable Transport.
- Conversation III: Food Business & Industry Communities: Securing Sustainability.
- Conversation IV: Breaking Boundaries: Space Community - I.D.E.A.S. for Sustainable Development.
- PARALLEL SESSIONS - Transform Science Education: Accessible Sustainability.
- Conversation V: Making Science Accessible. A Conversation with Renowned BLIND Scientists.
- CLOSING CEREMONY
- RECEPTION “Think Science .. Think Peace”.
