Authors: Tiffany Straza, Gender Scan

Published in 2024 by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) 7 place de Fontenoy, 75352 Paris 07 SP, France

Making STEM possible and worthwhile for women and girls in G20 countries

Science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) are seen as the fields of the future, with expanding job opportunities creating the goods, services and innovations that shape our daily lives. Yet women and girls form a third or less of the students, employees and innovators in these fields. When they do work in STEM, women earn 85% or less of what men are paid, and they are more likely to be the target of gender-based violence and sexism than women in other fields. Virtually no progress has been made in the past two decades.

Women and girls remain less likely than men and boys to advance to the next stage of their education or career in STEM, despite equal capacity. To close the gender gap, STEM studies and careers must be made possible and worthwhile, as a competitive choice for girls and women.

This policy brief identifies mechanisms to improve women’s and girls’ aspiration, participation and retention in STEM fields, from early education through to careers, illustrated by actions within G20 countries.

Key Messages

• From an early age, women and girls face persistent gender inequalities and systemic barriers in fields related to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) in G20 countries, particularly in advanced stages along the career ladder. These inequalities exist despite strong performance in STEM by women and girls.
• No progress has been observed in the past decade in the proportion of women who study and graduate in STEM subjects. Women formed a third or less of STEM graduates in most G20 countries in 2022. It is critical to tackle gender inequalities in STEM education and career counselling as girls are significantly less likely than boys to aspire to or pursue STEM studies in most countries, even though gender disparities in performance in science and mathematics are small and decreasing.
• There are two-fold fewer women in STEM occupations than in the overall workforce, with no significant improvement in representation over the past two decades in G20 countries. The proportion of women has diminished among ICT professionals
  and technicians since 2005. Women are outnumbered in higher education and in career and leadership roles in STEM. Underrepresentation moves them to the margins including among the decision-makers shaping STEM today and into the future.
• Gender bias – not performance – prevents women from entering and progressing in STEM careers. According to the Gender Scan survey (2021), 40% of women studying STEM reported they were the target of sexist behaviour, and nearly half of women working in STEM reported having experienced sexism at work. Fair and equitable pay is not yet a reality in STEM: Women’s pay was less than 85% of men’s pay in STEM occupations in 8 of the 10 G20 countries with data. Among researchers, women are less likely than men to obtain grants and receive smaller amounts when they do. Dismantling systemic inequities is essential to end the observed attrition along career pathways in STEM.
• Retention depends on conditions within STEM institutions and workplaces, affected by both procedural and cultural factors. In particular, women are more likely than men to interrupt their careers to fulfil caregiver responsibilities. The evidence underscores the importance of targeted interventions and supportive policies in achieving gender equality in STEM education and careers.
• Attracting girls and women to STEM is just the beginning. Understanding what they face – and why they leave – requires more information. Gender-disaggregated data, comparable across countries, are foundational for decision-making but remain limited. For instance, less than two-thirds of universities track women’s graduation rates and have plans aimed at closing the gender gap, even though four in five universities track gender in application rates.
• The global community would benefit from combatting gender inequalities in STEM both to permit the expression of the human right to science and to help us achieve global goals and overcome global challenges. The lack of gender equality in
  STEM can impede national development. By missing out on half of the world’s potential, all of society suffers because its ability to address challenges and take advantage of
  innovations is undermined.

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