In 2015, the UN General Assembly declared 11 February the annual International Day to recognise the critical role women and girls play in science and technology.
And with the month of March now internationally recognised as “Women’s History Month”, GÉANT’s #WomenInStem campaign is therefore the perfect opportunity to celebrate the contributions of women in STEM and to empower future generations to increase female representation!
So, in honour of all the outstanding and inspiring women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) who are part of the global GÉANT Community, we have brought together 24 participants from across 4 continents to raise one shared point: the world needs science, and science needs women!
Our month-long campaign features a series of five video interviews covering the following topics:
- Why diversity matters
- Female role models and mentors
- Overcoming challenges with resilience
- The power of women’s networks
- and Words for future generations.
Whilst the job roles and functions of our video interviewees vary from research to trust & identity, network communications, software development, cyberinfrastructure, research, and statistics, it is the variety of professional and cultural backgrounds – paired with the personal challenges that our video interviewees faced throughout their careers – that we believe adds such depth to their stories.
What about men?
With this campaign, we also stress an important point about why the STEM fields need more male allies to advocate for greater gender equality. Without men joining the conversation, improving female representation in STEM is not considered an organisational mandate, but is destined to remain simply a “women’s issue”, discussed by women for a strictly female-only audience. Since men still dominate STEM fields in number, they need to be made an integral part of the push for more supportive and inclusive work environments.
So, follow us on our social media and don’t miss our #WomenInStem episodes!
