[This is a manifesto written by ISGlobal's Equity & Gender Commission on behalf of the entire institution, which was read out on Friday 7 March in front of the Barcelona offices at 132 Rosselló Street and the Barcelona Biomedical Research Park.]
Today, 7 March, we gather on the eve of 8 March, International Women's Day. All women. Workers, mothers, migrants, adolescents, caregivers, girls, homemakers, sisters, grandmothers… all of them.
Today, on a day of unity but also of fight, advocacy, and sisterhood, we raise our voices to honour those who came before us—women who, with courage and determination, overcame constant barriers and challenges on the path toward equality. Thanks to them, we are here today. They fought for and defended rights that many of us now exercise, enjoy, and take for granted— rights that should be inherent and universal for all people, but are still not guaranteed to more than 4 billion women around the world.
In this context, it is essential to recognise the progress that the feminist movement has made thanks to its courage, strength and unrelenting determination over the last century. But there is still a long way to go. It is our turn to carry the torch - there are still rights to be won and battles to be fought.
On a day like today, we demand equal rights in all areas of life. Because the gap is still huge. In our field, only 32% of scientific positions are held by women; in clinical trials, female representation is just one woman for every four men; and since the creation of the Nobel Prize, women have received less than 7% of these awards.
Beyond the scientific field, women continue to face multiple forms of discrimination, violence, oppression, and silencing. The glass ceiling still limits the professional growth of many of us; lack of access to education continues to affect millions of girls worldwide, and the right to make decisions about our bodies and reproductive health is still denied in many countries.
At the same time, in other places, serious violations of our rights persist, and unacceptable regressions are taking place. The rise of far-right, populist, and reactionary ideologies in various countries is fueling rhetoric that undermines gender equality, minority rights, and progress on social justice. In the United States, federal diversity, equity and inclusion programmes have been dismantled, gender ideology has been eradicated, and access to reproductive health care has been restricted. Scientific articles on sexual health, gender-based violence, and other critical areas have been censored, scores of jobs have been eliminated, the use of gender-related terminology in official documents has been banned, and key executive orders on equity have been revoked.
In Argentina, there are ongoing efforts to dismantle gender policies and remove femicide from the Penal Code. In Afghanistan, the sound of women's voices has been banned. In Iraq, child marriage has been legalized in 2025. Worldwide, more than 2 million girls under the age of five are subjected to female genital mutilation every year, and armed conflicts continue to use physical, psychological and sexual violence against women as a weapon of war. We do not forget the women of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Syria, Haiti, Ukraine, Palestine, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Somalia, Myanmar, Iran, or Yemen. And these are just some examples.
Gender-based violence remains a silent pandemic that crosses borders and takes many forms. From systemic discrimination and oppression to femicide, all these forms of violence are part of a structure that continues to punish women simply for being women. In Spain, twenty years after the approval of the first law to protect women from gender-based violence and to track femicides, 1,296 women have been murdered. Worldwide, 1 in 3 women has experienced or will experience some form of gender-based violence in her lifetime, and every 10 minutes a woman or girl is intentionally killed.
Today we reflect on the need to continue to resist and work for all women whose efforts and resilience have been and continue to be fundamental in building more equitable, diverse, prosperous and non-discriminatory communities.
At ISGlobal, we reaffirm our commitment to equality, gender equity, and the fight against all forms of discrimination and violence against women. We actively support the demands and transformative agenda of the feminist movement, and promote initiatives that foster: gender equality within our institution; equitable representation; the elimination of disparities; the visibility of women's work in science and society; the integration of a gender perspective in research, education, and health; and progress towards the full recognition, exercise, and enjoyment of the rights of all women worldwide.
In our time, we can't take anything for granted, and we won't take a step back.
Today and every day is 8 March.
