Women in Science: unconscious bias and the way forward

Come February/March, mentions of and discussions about women empowerment abound everywhere. International Women’s Day (IWD) is now being celebrated for more than a century on 8 March, whereas 12th February has been declared by the United Nations as the International Day for Girls and Women in Science (IDGWS) since 2016. In fact, the declaration of IDGWS can be traced to the fifth goal of ‘Gender Equality’ in the list of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) that the world leaders have agreed to in 2015. This indicates that we should be thinking of ‘gender equity’ not just as a measure to bring about social justice and im-proving the lot of women, but more as a factor contributing positively and crucially to the developmental goals, a fact not yet widely appreciated. Of course, the relationship bet-ween science and development is well known and this gives a pragmatic reason for the society to focus on progress in the participation of women in science. Thus, the discussion of participation of Women in Science is important not only from the point of view of women, but also that of science and society. The sooner we all internalize it, the better it is both for women and for science! © 2023, Current Science.All Rights Reserved.