Gender, Science and Technology

The gender dimension of science and technology has become one of the most important and debated issues worldwide. Over the past 30 years, the United Nations General Assembly and UN Economic and Social Commission (ECOSOC) have emphasied issues related to inequalities, insufficiencies and disparities in the access of women to education, training and the labour market. Various major international initiatives on the subject have been undertaken, including the United Nations Decades on Women and Development (1975-1995), and special attention has been directed towards the role of women in science and technology. Gender equality is one of the eight United Nations Millennium Development Goals, which clearly call for action related to science, technology and gender.
In that context, and given its mandate in Science, UNESCO is expected to play a major role in addressing the above-mentioned issues, implementing related recommendations and advocating and affirming the crucial role of women and the gender dimension in science and technology through its programmes and activities.

Unesco supports several UNESCO Chairs for women in science in Kenya, Sudan, Argentina and Burkina Faso.

UNESCO also promotes networks of women scientists and cooperate with TWOWS.

Report on Science, Technology and Gender (2007)

UNESCO'S Natural Sciences Sector elaborates a UNESCO Science Report every 5 years and has begun producing thematic reports. The first of such reports is the International Report on Science, Technology and Gender, a concrete example of UNESCO's commitment to integrating gender perspectives in science and technology.

Objectives

1. Produce a solid and rigorous report based on empirical research and data. The Report aims to be both a conceptual and analytical tool, and a framework for action
2. Provide S&T policy-makers with a framework for action regarding gender mainstreaming in S&T
3. Elaborate a sound message for national and international scientific and academic communities, promoting the dissemination and rigorous discussion of gender in S&T issues
4. Disseminate, implement and follow up policy recommendations and agendas for major actors.

Women and science studied from an Italian perspective

April - Which country has the largest number of women employed in S&T? In what country are female researchers paid the most? How many female readers of science periodical are there in Italy Who do women trust when scientific issues are debated? So begins Women and Science: Italy in the International Context, a bilingual publication in Italian and English published by OBSERVA this week with the financial support and technical expertise of UNESCO’s Regional Bureau for Science and Culture in Europe, situated in Venice. The publication provides a wealth of information and data on the shifting gender relationships by comparing the situation in Italy with that in other countries around the world. (Read the report)

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