This year, on the occasion of the International Women’s Day, Enago Academy is celebrating the often overlooked contributions that women have made to STEM fields throughout history. The International Women’s Day (March 8) is a global event celebrating the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. The first International Women’s Day was celebrated on 19th March 1911. Prior to this, in 1909, it was celebrated as the “National Woman’s Day” and observed on February 28th. Finally, in 1975, which was named as the International Woman’s Year, the United Nations began to celebrate March 8 as the International Women’s Day. This year, however, the theme for International Women’s Day is #PressforProgress, which means we must press for progress towards gender equality. Women in STEM still face gender discrimination daily, which is why Enago Academy is highlighting the thoughts and opinions of some experts from science, research, and publishing.
Opinions from the Experts
Women have made progress in publishing possible. Now publishing must support the progress of women. I’m pleased to support women through CSE, SSP, WE Project, and WWIN.
Barbara Meyers Ford, President, DBA Meyers Consulting Services
International Women’s Day is the perfect occasion to both to celebrate the world’s many amazing and inspiring women – past, present, and future – and to recommit ourselves to achieving equal opportunities for all women.
Alice Meadows, Director of Community Engagement & Support, ORCID
Women have always contributed to science and research, from the likes of computing pioneer Ada Lovelace to the NASA engineers Katherine Goble, Mary Jackson and Dorothy Vaughan who helped put a man on the moon. However, these contributions have not always been recognized. We believe it’s vital to promote awareness and acknowledgment of great scientists, researchers, and publishers – regardless of gender – which is something we’re hoping our pinboards on Sparrho.com can showcase.
Vivian Chan, Founder & CEO, Sparrho
Ask for forgiveness, not for permission!
Being in charge of something means risk, but there is no advancement without risk.Anita Bandrowski, Founder and CEO, SciCrunch
Since some of my research has focused on exclusionary practices in academia, I’m particularly proud to be part of ScholarlyHub. By developing a new platform for publishing and sharing research, we hope to tear down some of the prestige- and profit-driven barriers that have hindered women’s progress in academia.
Tashina Blom, Communications, ScholarlyHub
Opportunity is everywhere, in everything. True strength and power come from within, and it is solely influenced by one’s determination and courage – to break all norms and overcome all challenges. It is not a matter of gender, but one of inner strength, ambition, and individualism.
The STEM industry is one among many territories seeing women in roles of leadership and innovation. Women have risen to the fore, surpassed all myths, and have proven themselves through their work. Any opportunity in the industry is purely based on merit and potential, and a significant percentage of these have been successfully undertaken by women.
Woman power does wonders everywhere, and the STEM industry is no exception to this! Happy Women’s Day to all those powerful women.Nicola Unger, Head – Human Resources, Enago
To do something well and in time is a gender-irrelevant requirement. To do that something consistently or innovatively with passion and empathy, despite adversities and priorities, is what matters the most. A big shout-out to all the brilliant and hard-working women who are making a difference – big and small. Remember, every day is yours!
Anupama Kapadia, Editor-in-Chief, Enago Academy
Press For Progress: A Call to Action
It is clear that women have been making valuable contributions to STEM for the last several decades. Yet, women in science face still face gender discrimination and other obstacles as they pursue their careers. This is likely the greatest reason why women remain significantly underrepresented in science and technology fields. Organizations like WiStem hope to change this trend by promoting STEM as a career for women, but there is still a long way to go before women start earning equal pay and recognition equal to that of men. The most recent World Economic Forum Global Gender Gap Report showed that it will take 217 years to close the gender parity gap. Recognizing their important work gets us one step closer to achieving gender equality in science and society as a whole, which is why we at Enago Academy are joining in the call to #PressforProgress.
We would love to hear your thoughts and opinions on the achievements of women in STEM. Tweet us using the hashtag #Women4STEM.
