Women & Girls in STEM: 10 Years Of Celebrating The Unsung Heroines of Science

The International Day of Women and Girls in Science celebrates the contributions of women scientists and highlights the need for gender equality in STEM fields.

International Day of Women and Girls in Science:There have been many powerful female scientists in India and the world who have revolutionised scientific research. Even though women have made tremendous progress towards increasing their participation in higher education, they are still under-represented in this field, the UN says.

A significant gender gap has persisted throughout the years at all levels of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines all over the world, it adds, stressing the need to empower women and girls.

10th anniversary of International Day of Women and Girls in Science (IDWGS)

February 11, 2025, marks the 10th anniversary of the International Day of Women and Girls in Science (IDWGS), which aims to reflect the expansive reach of science and celebrate the contributions of women in science worldwide. The world celebrates IDWGS every year today to recognise the often overlooked contributions of women scientists.

On the tenth anniversary of IDGWS, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called out to "help pave a path to STEM careers that women and girls deserve -- and our world needs".

2025 IDWS: Theme and Objectives

According to UNESCO, despite the significance of STEM fields to national economies, most countries haven't achieved gender equality in STEM. Only 33.3 per cent of researchers globally are women and just 35 per cent of students in STEM fields are women. In 2016, 30 per cent of countries with available data had reached gender parity among researchers.

Only 35% of all students in STEM related fields of study are women (Getty Images)

This year's IDGWS celebration will be held at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, France with the theme-- Unpacking STEM Careers: Her Voice in Science. The in-person and online participation for the event will kick start at 2:00 PM and continue until 8:30 PM.

UNESCO highlighted women hold a small minority of top-level positions in STEM despite improvements, and only 22 women have won Nobel prizes in scientific disciplines. It also mentioned the "2030 agenda", which commits to "leave no one behind" by addressing intersecting inequalities through data collection and analysis disaggregated by sex, age, income, disability, ethnicity, and other relevant factors.

Indian Women in Science Leadership

Only 22 women have been awarded a Nobel prize in a scientific discipline to date (Getty Images)

Seetha Coleman-Kammula: A pioneering chemist, environmentalist, and entrepreneur, Seetha is the founder of Simply Sustain. This firm is dedicated to industrial ecology and the assessment of product life cycles to ensure manufacturing processes are environmentally conscious and sustainable for the future.

Sudha Murthy:Renowned in STEM and celebrated as an author, Sudha excels in multiple fields. She is the chairperson of the Infosys Foundation, a member of public health care initiatives of the Gates Foundation, an engineering teacher, and an author of works in Kannada and English.

Mallika Srinivasan:As the chairperson and managing director of Tractors and Farm Equipment Limited, Mallika has led the company to achieve revenues of Rs 96 billion. The company's diverse interests include tractors, farm machinery, diesel engines, engineering plastics, hydraulic pumps and cylinders, batteries, automobile franchises, and plantations.

Nigar Shaji:An Indian aerospace engineer, Nigar has been integral to the country's space exploration since joining ISRO in 1987. She was the project director of Aditya-L1, India's first solar mission.

Sudha Bhattacharya:A professor at the School of Environmental Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), Sudha has made significant contributions to molecular parasitology.

Sunita Sarawagi:A distinguished professor at IIT Bombay, Sunita is celebrated for her groundbreaking research in databases and data mining.

Tessy Thomas:Hailed as the 'Missile Woman of India', Tessy played a pivotal role in India's ballistic missile defence program.

Gagandeep Kang:A renowned Indian microbiologist, Gagandeep made history in 2019 as the first Indian woman elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society.