Gender bias in science has resulted in drug tests that treat the female body as an aberration, and search algorithms that perpetuate discrimination, but the solution is simple: increase the numbers of women working in the field and support the girls hoping to join them one day.
Boosting the number of women and girls entering careers involving STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) is vital to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, UN chief António Guterres said on Monday, in a message to mark the International Day of Women and Girls in Science.
American astronaut Peggy Whitson is making history as the first woman ever to command two missions aboard the International Space Station.
However, back on Earth, the UN is concerned that comparatively few women are launching careers in the space sector or studying the so-called STEM subjects; that is Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.
This Saturday, 11 February, is the International Day of Women and Girls in Science.
First all-female UN police unit leaves Liberia
An all-female UN police unit from India is leaving Liberia on Sunday after nine years of helping to stabilize the country. It was the first force of its kind in the history of United Nations peacekeeping operations. A bloody civil war in the country that began in late 1989, claimed the lives of over 150,000 people, mostly civilians. Daniel Dickinson has the story.
When women are given career opportunities in maths and science fields, everyone benefits.
That’s according to some attendees at the first International Day of Women and Girls in Science held recently at UN headquarters in New York.
Science, technology, engineering and mathematics, known by the acronym, STEM, have in many countries traditionally been dominated by men.
The UN is hoping that will change.
Girls don’t want to be portrayed as “geeks” and that is turning them away from Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM).
That’s what the head of the UN Office of Information and Communication Technology (OICT), Atefeh “Atti” Riazi on the International Day of Women and Girls in Science observed this Thursday.
