In only a few days, the world will celebrate the 4th International Day of Women and Girls in Science. According to the United Nations, February 11, 2019 is recognized as a day to celebrate advances in science made by women and the importance of gender equality in achieving development goals.
According to research from the Hamilton Project at Brookings Institution, although women earn 57% percent of all four-year university degrees, they receive only 35% of bachelor’s degrees in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. Furthermore, after graduation, women represent just 22% of the STEM workforce, and are granted only 16% of all patents.
To commemorate the 4th International Day of Women and Girls in Science, the United Nations is holding a two-day forum at its headquarters in New York with a theme of “Investment in Women and Girls in Science for Inclusive Green Growth”. It is recognized that STEM skills can give women in developing countries access to wider economic opportunities. Therefore, the United Nations hopes that the STEM skills of women in developing countries can be leveraged to develop new technologies and tools that are ecologically sustainable.
Surmounting the global challenges in STEM fields drives the technological changes of both today and tomorrow, and promoting gender equality worldwide is the key in achieving these goals.
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