It’s 2023 and We Are Still Talking About the Lack of Women Leaders in Science

I am a woman and a scientist—I am not sure which of those two descriptions comes first, but society has made it clear to me from day one.

It’s 2023 and we are still talking about the lack of women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). It was only eight years ago that the United Nations General Assembly designated February 11 as the International Day of Women and Girls in Science. This annual observance was established by resolution 70/212 to address the gender gap in STEM, which is unfortunately still entrenched in our society today.

As a woman scientist, I feel privileged to work with great professionals and most of the members of my current team are women. Even so, throughout my career almost all the people I have encountered in leadership positions have been men.

About two years ago, a group of colleagues in the Barcelona Institute for Global Health started to share their concerns about this lack of representation of women. These conversations led us to found the Spanish chapter of Women in Global Health, an international movement that advocates for the equal representation of women in global health and challenges current leadership models. I am currently the president of Women in Global Health Spain (WGH-Sp), a national chapter of an international community with more than 50 chapters worldwide. In WGH-Sp, which brings together women from different health disciplines, we are working to promote gender equity using an intersectional approach that includes outreach and training, research, advocacy and networking.

As a woman scientist, I feel privileged to work with great professionals and most of the members of my current team are women. Even so, throughout my career almost all the people I have encountered in leadership positions have been men.

What Is the Current Position of Women in STEM?

In the field of information technology, only one in five professionals working in artificial intelligence is a woman, and this is one of the areas expected to offer the most jobs in the near future. Only 28% of engineering graduates are women. Compounding the problem is the fact that women in research are paid less than their male colleagues and have fewer opportunities for promotion to higher positions.

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Nuestras compañeras de #ISGlobal recuerdan cuando eran pequeñas y lanzan un mensaje para inspirar y promover el interés de las niñas por la ciencia.

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— ISGlobal (@ISGLOBALorg) February 11, 2022

We know that these differences are partly due to the perceptions of women themselves: they tend to undervalue their abilities compared to their male colleagues, appear less self-confident and more readily accept minor, unappreciated roles. According to the STEM Women Report, 57% of STEM graduates in 2021 report having experienced impostor syndrome. Despite the fact that gender equality is one of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 5), progress on the equal representation of women in STEM has been minimal in recent years.

As well as encouraging girls to pursue STEM careers and giving them the role models our generation lacked, we also need to talk about how to promote and embrace diversity

We Need More Women in STEM Leadership Positions

The underrepresentation of women in STEM professions has many negative consequences for society—economic, social and developmental. The situation is, in part, due to social barriers, such as the perception that these are male professions, discriminatory practices in access to higher education and the job market, the acceptance of gender roles and stereotypes that view women as family caregivers and homemakers, the low visibility in the media of women working in STEM. These are the inevitable consequences of a patriarchal social structure.

The current value system rewards scientists on the basis of the number of articles they publish and the impact factor of the journals where they publish. It does not reward people who do things differently, work collaboratively or who bring a new vision to their field

Why Women’s Vision Is Essential in Science

As the current situation is due to multiple factors, the solution will also be complex and change will require work on many fronts and in many sectors simultaneously. For some time now, attempts have been made to effect change by improving women’s access to the STEM labour market, promoting positive action to increase the number of women in decision-making positions, advocacy in education and increasing the social recognition of women in STEM. But above all, what is needed is to change attitudes and to include the gender perspective in STEM fields.

Women in Global Health - Spain launch.

As well as encouraging girls to pursue STEM careers and giving them the role models our generation lacked, we also need to talk about how to promote and embrace diversity in these disciplines by identifying how the current system fails to accommodate the diverse lives of different individuals and the way they go about pursuing a career in STEM. This implies making a radical change and redefining how we assess value.

The current value system rewards scientists on the basis of the number of articles they publish and the impact factor of the journals where they publish; this measure conditions their access to the grants that fund their scientific career and their promotion to higher positions. It does not reward people who do things differently, work collaboratively or who bring a new vision to their field. This model is symptomatic of a society in which competition and results are more important than process and learning. A more inclusive model will allow us to recognise the value of doing things differently and will enrich us with the knowledge it can bring.