Since its establishment by the UN General Assembly on 22 December 2015, the International Day of Women and Girls in Science aims at raising awareness on the issue celebrating women’s excellence in science and reminding the international community that science and gender equality have to advance hand-in-hand to address major global challenges and achieve all the goals and targets of the 2030 Agenda.
The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has clearly demonstrated the critical role of women researchers in different stages of the fight against COVID-19, from advancing the knowledge on the virus to developing technics for testing and finally the vaccine against the virus.
At the same time, the COVID-19 pandemic also had a significant negative impact on woman scientists, particularly affecting those at early-career stages, and thus contributing to widening the existing gender gap in science, and revealing the gender disparities in the scientific system, which need to be addressed by new policies, initiatives and mechanisms to support woman and girls in science.
In this framework, this year’s celebration of the Day will address the theme “Women Scientists at the forefront of the fight against COVID-19”, and gather experts working in fields related to the pandemic from different parts of the world.
The event will take place online, on Zoom platform. A simultaneous interpretation of the debates will be provided in English and French.