Both education and gender equality are an integral part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 2015, as Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). More girls are going to school today than before; gender equality in primary education has been achieved in most of the regions. However, there are still large inequalities in the labor market in some regions, women still do not have equal access to work. While more women are entering the STEM workforce than ever before, women are still significantly under-represented in STEM occupations in many countries.
Only 17 women have won a Nobel Prize in physics, chemistry or medicine since Marie Curie in 1903, compared to 572 men.Today, only 28% of all of the world’s researchers are women. According to UNESCO data (2014 - 2016), only around 30 per cent of all female students select STEM-related fields in higher education. Globally, female students’ enrolment is particularly low in ICT (3 per cent), natural science, mathematics and statistics (5 per cent) and in engineering, manufacturing and construction (8 per cent).
Ensuring girls and women have equal access to STEM education and ultimately STEM careers is an imperative from the human rights, scientific, and development perspectives. the inclusion of women promotes scientific excellence and boosts the quality of STEM outcomes, as diverse perspectives aggregate creativity, reduce potential biases, and promote more robust knowledge and solutions.
Reference:- Cracking the code: girls' and women's education in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), UNESCO.
