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. Gender equality is a global priority for UNESCO, and the support of young girls, their education and their full ability to make their ideas heard are levers for development and peace.

Although Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields are widely regarded as critical to national economies, so far most countries, no matter their level of development, have not achieved gender equality in STEM:

• 33.3% global average percentage of female researchers and only 35% of all students in STEM related fields of study are women
• 30% of all countries with data available on the national share of women researchers had reached parity in 2016

That is why Audrey Azoulay, UNESCO Director-General, expressed “Let’s reiterate this fundamental message: women need science, and science needs women. Only by tapping into all sources of knowledge, all sources of talent, can we unlock the full potential of science, and rise to the challenges of our time”.

To celebrate the day Ciências ULisboa produced a video with the testimonies of some researchers from its R&D units (in Portuguese). LASIGE which supports the motto of Audrey Azoulay was also represented by its researcher and Ph.D. student Susana Nunes.

Dia Internacional das Mulheres e das Meninas na Ciência 2023 – YouTube