Happy International Day of Women and Girls in Science

Gender stereotypes, discrimination and poverty are holding back millions of girls. The International Day of Women and Girls in Science reminds us that there is still much to do to ensure full and equal access to and participation in science for women and girls.

While more women are entering the STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) workforce than ever before, women are still significantly under-represented in STEM occupations in many countries. Closing the global gender gap in STEM education and employment is crucial to empowering women and addressing the shortage of qualified workers in these fields in many countries. Tackling global challenges like climate change, the fourth industrial revolution or the digital divide and achieving sustainable development require the active involvement of educated women as well as educated men.

The participation of women in STEM is a complex problem which calls for actions from different actors, such as governments, private sector, families, as well the different levels of education (from childhood to higher education).

Globally, only around 30% of female higher education students choose STEM-related fields of study. Female students’ enrolment is particularly low in ICT (3%), natural science, mathematics and statistics (5%) and engineering, manufacturing and construction (8%). Women also leave STEM disciplines in disproportionate numbers during their studies, during transition to the world of work and even during their career cycle.[1]

Self-selection bias is considered to be the major reason for girls opting out of STEM, "as girls often do not consider STEM professions to be compatible with their gender. However, this ‘choice’ is influenced heavily by the socialisation process, during which girls learn and internalise stereotyped ideas about gender roles, including stereotypes about gender and STEM. There are two predominant stereotypes with relation to gender and STEM – ‘boys are better at maths and science than girls’ and ‘science and engineering careers are masculine domains’”, according to the UNESCO’s Cracking the code: Girls’ and women’s education in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) (2017) report. [2]

EU also provides scholarship and mobility opportunities at higher education level through various programmes so young women and men in partner countries have the chance to study in their area of choice. Through Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions and African Union Research Grants, researchers from all career stages are supported, including the ones working on STEM subjects.

Gender equality is in the hearth of the EU’s external actions, especially of education interventions in developing countries. EU education interventions look beyond gender parity in numbers, and aims to achieve transformational change by strengthening education systems for advancing gender equality. EU support partner governments in providing safe and healthy learning environments, recruiting and training teachers, revising curricula, combating gender stereotypes, discriminatory social norms and school-related gender-based violence.

For more examples of EU interventions for gender equality in and through education, see Practical Guidance Notes: 8. Gender Equality In Education.

EU's new Action Plan on Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment in External Action 2021–2025 (GAP III) calls for a gender-equal world and commits to accelerate progress on empowering women and girls. Leading by example, the EU will increase its investment in girls’ education to achieve equal access to all forms of education and training, including science, technology, engineering and maths, digital literacy and skills, and technical and vocational education and training.

Du Thi Bich Duyen is one of the scholarship recipients of SHARE (European Union Support to Higher Education in the ASEAN Region) programme. Being a student of Food Technology in at Ho Chi Minh University of Technology and Education in Vietnam, she came to Bogor Agricultural University (IPB) in Indonesia with SHARE’s support to study how to process food raw materials into new products. "Here I found some food products that I never seen before in Vietnam. In classroom, even, some students came up with new ideas. We can really learn from one another.”, she said. She comes from a family in food business; they make a traditional cake, a kind of Vietnamese steamed roll called bánh cuốn. Her goal is to help her family to scale up the production and in the long run, she believes her work can contribute to sustainable development: "If you can make the food good enough once and for all, you will add value. That way we can contribute to solve bigger issues such as hunger in developing countries," she said. EU- funded SHARE programme aims to strengthen regional co-operation and enhance the quality, regional competitiveness and internationalisation of ASEAN higher education institutions and students. To achieve this, it focuses on mobility, recognition, quality assurance and policy dialogue. Source: https://www.share-asean.eu/activities/scholarship/testimonials

[1] UNESCO, Cracking the code: Girls’ and women’s education in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), 2017, p. 20-22

[2] UNESCO, Cracking the code: Girls’ and women’s education in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), 2017, p. 43