International Day of Women and Girls in Science

When :

from Tuesday 11 February, 2020
10:00
to Wednesday 12 February, 2020
12:55

Type of event :

Special Event

Where :

UNESCO Headquarters, 7, place de Fontenoy, 75007, Paris, France

This year, the celebration of the Day at UNESCO Headquarters will gather experts from different sectors and backgrounds including key scientific partners, talented women scientists rewarded through the L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science Programme, representatives of UNESCO scientific networks and Chairs. The invited speakers and participants will discuss and examine the issue of gender gap in science, also drawing on the conclusions of the Conference “A Global Approach to the Gender Gap in Mathematical, Computing, and Natural Sciences: How to Measure It, How to Reduce It?”, held in November 2019 at the Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP).

The event is organized with the participation of the International Science Council, and will be held in English and French. It will be open to UNESCO Permanent Delegations and staff members, scientists and partners from the private sector based in Paris.

Tackling some of the greatest challenges of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development -- from improving health to combatting climate change -- will rely on harnessing all talent. That means getting more women working in these fields. Diversity in research expands the pool of talented researchers, bringing in fresh perspectives, talent and creativity. This Day is a reminder that women and girls play a critical role in science and technology communities and that their participation should be strengthened.

If you wish to participate in this event, please register online.

You can also follow the livestream, on 11 February from 10:00 to 12:30 (UTC/GMT +1):

 

Programme

 

09:30am-   Registration and welcome coffee
10:00 -        Opening remarks

Bt Shamila Nair-Bedouelle, Assistant Director-General for Natural Sciences, UNESCO

10:15 -        Keynote speech: Some aspects of research on the gender gap in science by social scientists

  • Catherine Jami, CNRS

10:45 -        Round table discussion: How to close the gender gap in science?
 Moderated by Heide Hackmann, CEO, International Science Council,
 with:

  • Lingadahalli Subrahmanya Shashidhara (India)
    President, International Union of Biological Sciences (UISB)
  • Vivian Etsiapa Boamah (Ghana)
    Senior Lecturer, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi (KNUST), and fellow of the L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science Sub-Saharan Africa Programme
  • Dragana Ilic (Serbia)
    Associated Professor, Department of Astronomy, Faculty of Mathematics, University of Belgrade. Fellow of the L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science Serbia Programme
  • Gloria Bonder (Argentina)
    Coordinator, UNESCO Regional Chair on Women, Science and Technology in Latin America 

Links:

 

 

More information

On 22 December 2015, the General Assembly decided to establish an annual International Day to recognize the critical role women and girls play in science and technology, through Resolution A/RES/70/212.

The International Day of Women and Girls in Science, celebrated on 11 February, is implemented by UNESCO and UN-Women, in collaboration institutions and civil society partners that aim to promote women and girls in science. This Day is an opportunity to promote full and equal access to and participation in science for women and girls.