FORUM: “Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion: Water Unites Us.” International Day of Women and Girls in Science 2022.
PANEL DISCUSSION I: High-Level Panel on Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion:
The human rights-based approach.
- Women in Science for Water and Society: Bridging Voices to Action - Conversation I
- Reviving Peace Through Science-Based Water Diplomacy - Conversation II
Moving the Water Conversation Forward
PANEL DISCUSSION II: High-Level Panel on Investing in Water for Sustainable Development
- Re-Shaping Water Economics for Inclusive Green Growth - Conversation I
- Financing Innovative Science- and Green Technology- Based water solutions and programs - Conversation II
Closing ceremony.
The 7th International Day of Women and Girls in Science Assembly.
The 7th International Day of Women and Girls in Science Assembly , taking place on 11 February 2022, in virtual format from UN Headquarters in New York, aims to recognize the role of women and girls in science, not only as beneficiaries, but also as agents of change, including in view of accelerating progress towards the achievement of SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation).
The 7th Assembly will bring together women in science and experts from around the world, high-level government officials, representatives of international organizations and the private sector to discuss the water nexus in achieving the three pillars of sustainable development, namely economic prosperity, social justice, and environmental integrity.
It will showcase best practices, strategies, applied solutions, and experiences in addressing the SDG6 challenges and opportunities through the Cansu Global Media Room. It will also feature, for the first time, a unique Ebru Water Art Performance to celebrate the 7th Anniversary of the #February11 Global Movement.
Statement by the U.N. Secretary-General on the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, 11 February 2022.
Today, only one in three science and engineering researchers in the world is a woman.
Structural and societal barriers prevent women and girls from entering and advancing in science.
The COVID-19 pandemic has further increased gender inequalities, from school closures to a rise in violence and a greater burden of care in the home.
This inequality is depriving our world of enormous untapped talent and innovation. We need women’s perspectives to make sure science and technology work for everyone.
We can – and must – take action.
With policies that fill classrooms with girls studying technology, physics, engineering, math.
With targeted measures to ensure opportunities for women to grow and lead at laboratories, research institutions and universities.
With determination to end discrimination and stereotypes about women in science.
And with more rigorous efforts to expand opportunities for women members of minority communities.
All of this is especially important in the crucial field of artificial intelligence.
There is a direct connection between low levels of women working in AI, and absurd gender biased algorithms that treat men as standard and women as an exception.
We need more women developing artificial intelligence that serves everyone and works for gender equality.
We also need to reverse trends that keep young women scientists from pursuing careers that help us address the climate and environmental crises.
I taught engineering. I know from personal experience that young women and men are equally capable and equally fascinated by science, brimming with ideas, and ready to carry our world forward.
We must ensure that they have access to the same learning and work opportunities on a level playing field.
On this International Day of Women and Girls in Science, I call on everyone to create an environment where women can realize their true potential and today’s girls become tomorrow’s leading scientists and innovators, shaping a fair and sustainable future for all.
Joint message from Ms Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of UNESCO and Ms. Sima Bahous, Executive Director of UN Women, on the occasion of the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, 11 February 2022, Promoting Women in Science to Reach Our Full PotentialStatement by the U.N. Secretary-General on the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, 11 February 2022.
Today, only one in three science and engineering researchers in the world is a woman.
Structural and societal barriers prevent women and girls from entering and advancing in science.
The COVID-19 pandemic has further increased gender inequalities, from school closures to a rise in violence and a greater burden of care in the home.
This inequality is depriving our world of enormous untapped talent and innovation. We need women’s perspectives to make sure science and technology work for everyone.
We can – and must – take action.
With policies that fill classrooms with girls studying technology, physics, engineering, math.
With targeted measures to ensure opportunities for women to grow and lead at laboratories, research institutions and universities.
With determination to end discrimination and stereotypes about women in science.
And with more rigorous efforts to expand opportunities for women members of minority communities.
All of this is especially important in the crucial field of artificial intelligence.
There is a direct connection between low levels of women working in AI, and absurd gender biased algorithms that treat men as standard and women as an exception.
We need more women developing artificial intelligence that serves everyone and works for gender equality.
We also need to reverse trends that keep young women scientists from pursuing careers that help us address the climate and environmental crises.
I taught engineering. I know from personal experience that young women and men are equally capable and equally fascinated by science, brimming with ideas, and ready to carry our world forward.
We must ensure that they have access to the same learning and work opportunities on a level playing field.
On this International Day of Women and Girls in Science, I call on everyone to create an environment where women can realize their true potential and today’s girls become tomorrow’s leading scientists and innovators, shaping a fair and sustainable future for all.
António Guterres.
The major challenges the world faces today, from COVID-19 to climate change, need our brightest scientific minds to solve them. However, only one in three scientists is a woman. This glaring disparity does not just hamstring our ability to find solutions to our common challenges, it keeps us from building the societies we need. And the disparity is systemic. Women also remain underrepresented among senior scientists in academia. According to the 2021 UNESCO Science Report, they are awarded less research funding than men, and are less likely to be promoted. In the private sector too, women are less present in company leadership and in technical roles in tech industries. The lack of equal opportunities in the workplace is driving women out of research professions. We must put the principle of equality into action so that science works for women, because it works against them all too often – for example, when algorithms perpetuate the biases of their programmers. Despite a labour shortage in this field, studies have shown that women account for just 22% of professionals working in artificial intelligenceand 28% of engineering graduates. And when they found their own start-ups, women receive less than 3% of total venture capital compared to men.However, more generally speaking, we need to provide more opportunities in science and innovation to women. That is why UNESCO and UN Women strive to get girls into science education, and to ensure their rightful place in these professions and industries. Last year, the Generation Equality Forum launched the Action Coalition on Technology and Innovation for Gender Equality. Its aim is to double the proportion of women working in technology and innovation by 2026 and ensure that women and girls participate fully in finding solutions to the large, complex and interdisciplinary problems we face. Doing that requires positive remedies for increased representation, as well a constant vigilance to uproot long-standing discrimination and unconscious bias. We are already seeing how working together across the public and private sectors and across generations can bring about positive change, such as by eliminating gender stereotypes in education and putting policies in place to attract and support women
scientists in the workforce.Science derives from the universal curiosity that makes us human, asking the questions that are common to us all. We urgently need it to build more inclusive, transformativeand accountable science and technology ecosystems that are free of biases and discrimination. In so doing, we will be able to accelerate the Sustainable Development Goals, and address the challenges that impact us all
UN WOMEN Executive Director
EVENTS AND SYMPOSIUM
UN Member States are also taking action. For instance, Portugal is organizing a High-Level Symposium on Water during the 2nd UN Ocean Conference, which it is co-hosting with Kenya, in Lisbon, from 27 June to 1 July 2022, as a means of promoting an integrated vision of the water cycle. Tajikistan is holding the Second High-Level International Conference on the International Decade for Action on Water for Sustainable Development 2018-2028, in June 2022, in Dushanbe.
In order to achieve full and equal access to and participation in science for women and girls, and further achieve gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls, the United Nations General Assembly adopted resolution A/RES/70/212 declaring 11 February as the International Day of Women and Girls in Science.
For further information, please contact: info@womeninscienceday.org
