UNESCO has made gender equality a global priority in access to education and training. It is with this objective that the International Day of Women and Girls in Science was established in 2015, celebrated each year on February 11. The 8th edition of this event focuses on the role of women and girls and science in the direction of sustainable development.
The United Nations, via 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 population of researchers, women occupy only 12% of the seats in the national academies of science. Thus, this international day of awareness encourages to move towards 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 will be examined at the next High Level Political Forum: Goal 6 (water and sanitation), the Goal 7 (affordable and clean energy), Goal 9 (industry, innovation and infrastructure), Goal 11 (sustainable cities and communities) and Goal 17 (partnerships).
Women Engineers Days
Among the many events organized around this 8th Day, we should mention the event organized by the Cité des sciences et de l’industrie, in Paris. The Women Engineers Days is part of the “One engineer, one project” scheme. 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 topics such as the secrets of steel fabrication, telecommunications, the human/machine interface, or biotechnologies. Here again, it is a question of giving visibility to women in these trades, where they are still too few.