Programme / Women in Science to Achieve SDGs

Science and gender equality are both vital for the achievement of the Sustainable Developments Goals (SDGs). Over the past 15 years, the global community has made a lot of effort in inspiring and engaging women and girls in science. Unfortunately, women and girls continued to be excluded from participating fully in science. Although the development of STEM fields is widely regarded as beneficial for the expansion of national economies, the underrepresentation of women in STEM represents the loss of a critical mass of talent and ideas.

This side event will include a roundtable discussion on the current situation of women and girls in science and engineering and will provide complementary perspectives on the role of women in science to achieve SDGs.

The event will also serve to inspire young man and women and will sensitize policy-makers and other stakeholders on initiatives that foster women’s contribution to sustainable development.

The discussions will enrich the debate and will emphasize and strengthen the message, at the general debate during the Forum, that gender equality in science is a key element that countries and international organizations need to take into account in formulating action plans and/or roadmaps for STI for the SDGs.

During the session, it will be launched the UNESCO publication “Measuring Gender Equality in Science and Engineering: the SAGA Toolkit” developed in the framework of the global UNESCO project STEM and Gender Advancement (SAGA). The lack of data from which to draw useful indicators can obstruct the design, monitoring and evaluation of STI policies aimed at gender equality. In response to this, the SAGA Toolkit provides practical tools to monitor and evaluate gender equality and to integrate gender aspects in science, technology and innovation (STI) policies.

Considering the themes covered and the type of audience attending the event, the World Science Forum is the ideal platform to present and launch the SAGA Toolkit. The exchange and the dissemination of best practices and innovative methodologies to address gender imbalance, which are evident around the world, are important to improve mainstreaming gender into research, innovation, and policy.

The conclusions and recommendations of the round table will be shared among the World Science Forum’s participants and among the other networks.

The importance of the contribution of women in science cannot be excluded from the forum, considering that WSF is a platform for improved dialogue and collaboration between the scientific community, private sector, government and civil society.