Gender equality in scientific organizations

The International Science Council (ISC) is committed to advancing gender equality in global science by promoting the use of evidence to inform gender policies and programs within scientific institutions, particularly among its Members.

Since 2020, the ISC has collaborated with key partners, including the Standing Committee for Gender Equality in Science (SCGES), the InterAcademy Partnership (IAP), and the Organization for Women in Science for the Developing World (OWSD), to assess and address the persistent underrepresentation of women in scientific organizations. Through regular surveys and studies, the ISC tracks progress on gender equality, examining membership trends, participation rates, and institutional policies.

In 2024, the ISC started a new phase of its five-yearly baseline study, further analyzing the drivers and barriers to women’s participation in science, with a launch planned for March 2025.

Building the evidence base for gender equality in scientific organizations

The “Gender equality in science: from awareness to transformation” project, conducted in partnership with Gender in science, innovation, technology and engineering (GenderInSITE) and the IAP, surveyed over 120 global science organizations to assess progress on gender equality, focusing on women’s membership, participation and the adoption of gender equality policies. The first report of its kind was released in 2015, and the second edition published in October 2021, revealed persistent underrepresentation of women and recommended forming a coalition to drive coordinated gender equality efforts.

In 2024, following a pilot study conducted in consultation with the SCGES, the ISC and its partners the IAP, and the SCGES have launched the new phase of the five-yearly baseline on gender equality in scientific organizations. The project’s aims will continue to address the persistent underrepresentation of women in scientific academies, medical academies, academies of engineering and international scientific unions. It will analyse the drivers of and barriers to women’s participation through both quantitative and qualitative data collection, building on previous surveys and recommendations from 2015 and 2021, with a launch planned for March 2025.

The pilot led to the production of a blog series, published in October 2024, entitled Women Scientists Around the World: Strategies for Gender Equality produced in collaboration with the SCGES.

In its work to advance gender equality in scientific organizations, the ISC is fortunate to partner with the Standing Committee for Gender Equality in Science (SCGES), born out of the project ‘A Global Approach to the Gender Gap in Mathematical, Computing, and Natural Sciences: How to Measure It, How to Reduce It?’, and encourages ISC Members to join this important initiative.