UNESCO has made gender equality a global priority in access to education and training. With this goal in mind, the “International Day of Women and Girls in Science” was established in 2015, celebrated every year on February 11. The 8th edition of this event focuses on the role of women and girls and science, in the direction of the Sustainable Development Goals.
The United Nations, through the page dedicated to the 2023 edition of the “International Day of Women and Girls in Science”, reminds us that "the research grants allocated to women are less than those allocated to their male colleagues and that, although they represent 33.3% of the research population, women occupy only 12% of the seats in the national academies of science." Thus, this international awareness day encourages moving toward more parity.
What role for girls and women in science in the Sustainable Development Goals?
In addition to encouraging girls and women towards scientific and technical professions, this 2023 edition is an opportunity to present the solutions applied to meet the challenges and opportunities of the SDGs. This day focuses on the role of women and girls in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the 2030 Agenda. The following goals will be discussed at the upcoming High Level Political Forum: Goal 6 (water and sanitation), Goal 7 (affordable and clean energy), Goal 9 (industry, innovation and infrastructure), Goal 11 (sustainable cities and communities) and Goal 17 (partnerships).
Women's Engineering Day
Among the many events organized around this 8th Day, let's mention the event organized by the Cité des sciences et de l'industrie, in Paris. The Women Engineers' Day is part of the "One Engineer, One Project" program. It takes place on February 11 and 12 and invites the public to meet women engineers. They will be present to present the projects they are working on, on themes such as the secrets of steel manufacturing, telecommunications, the man/machine interface, or biotechnologies. Here again, the aim is to give visibility to women in these professions, where they are still too few in number.
In addition to addressing the goals of the Sustainable Development Goals, we are also working to expand and mature the global society's worldwide network. After all, equal rights for women and integration in male-dominated professions is also one of the visions of the global society.