NEWS

A special day dedicated to STEM women

This Saturday, February 11th, the world is celebrating the International Day of Women and Girls in Science. The main focus of this special day is to honour the contributions of women in the field of science and academia.

At ScoutinScience, we are happy to work with a multitude of females from academia. Specialist in innovation, medicine, technology, research and many more. Therefore, we decided to take a look at the numbers of females in R&D, science, and entrepreneurship.

Although we are in an advanced era, in many countries, women and girls face numerous obstacles. The problems appear from a young age, with the possibilities of participating in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education and careers; and they last until later in their career, especially when it comes to leadership roles.

UNESCO has designated February 11 as the International Day of Women and Girls in Science. We believe that this day can be considered an opportunity to raise the problems that women are facing on a daily basis. However, it is important to not forget the progress that has been made, celebrate the achievements of women in science and encourage more girls to enter STEM fields.

Here are some more interesting facts about women in science that you might have missed:

• Women in the US represent 47% of the overall workforce in science, engineering, and health fields. Unfortunately, only 28% have a full-time job in those fields. (2020 report from the National Science Foundation) • According to a 2022 article from UNESCO, women represent 28% of the world's engineer graduates. • When it comes to higher education in the fields of science and engineering fields, the data shows that females hold a small percentage. According to NSF, 19% of women hold a bachelor’s degree, 23% a master’s degree, and 29% a doctoral degree. • In academia, especially in the fields of science and engineering, women represent only 21% of full-time positions. (2018 report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine) • According to the National Academies, women make up only 21% of department chairs in academia. • Extra tip: Women represent just 11 % of the researchers in astronomy and 23% in mathematics.

At ScoutinScience, we have over thousands of research papers in our database. Therefore, we thought you might like some more interesting facts about women in R&D:

• In comparison to men, women hold way fewer patents. ONLY 16.5% of patents are granted to women. (WIPO, 2021) • A report by the National Center for Women & Information Technology found that there is clearly a lack of female representation in leadership positions. The data shows that only 26% of senior management positions in the technology industry are held by women. • In 2021, the pay difference between women and men in STEM industries was $26,784, or 18%. This was a slight improvement compared to 2020 when the pay gap was $28,994 (19%). In 2016, the full-time total remuneration gender pay gap was 22%. (WGEA, 2020) • Women are more likely to face difficulty when it comes to advancement in STEM fields. The studies show that the main reason for this is the lack of (representative) mentors/role models and gender bias.

Because we love a high business potential score in research at ScoutinScience, here are a few facts about female entrepreneurs in the EU and America:

• The number of women entrepreneurs from the Netherlands increased and it is currently at 38%. According to a report from the Dutch Chamber of Commerce, there are 715,383 businesses owned by females in 2022, a 62 per cent rise compared to 2014. • In the EU, women entrepreneurs constitute 29% of entrepreneurs, a lower percentage compared to The Netherlands. The Netherlands managed to be one of the countries with the most female entrepreneurs. • Women own 12.3 million businesses in the United States. This represents 39% of all businesses. In America it was shown that businesses owned by women of colour have seen the fastest growth rate over the past decade, increasing by 164%. Women also employ over 9 million people and generate $1.9 trillion in revenue.

History

There are many important achievements by women in science. The International Day of Women and Girls in Science represents a good occasion to celebrate STEM women in history. • Marie Curie was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize (1903), and the first woman to receive a Nobel Prize in two different scientific fields (1911). • Rosalind Franklin was a British chemist and X-ray crystallographer whose work in DNA structure was crucial to the discovery of the double helix. • Dorothy Hodgkin was a Nobel Prize-winning British chemist who is best known for her work on the structure of proteins, including penicillin. • Jocelyn Bell Burnell was an astrophysicist who identified the first radio pulsars. • Sally Ride became the first American woman to travel to space in 1983.

At ScoutinScience, we believe that diversity and gender equality in STEM is crucial for driving innovation and progress.

Our AI platform is trained to identify the best tech-transfer opportunities in scientific publications and other data sources, and one of our goals is to make sure that women that work in science get the recognition and support deserved.

Join us in supporting and empowering women in science, and let's make sure that their voices are heard loud and clear. Currently, our dashboard contains thousand of research carried out by women in multiple fields such as engineering, medicine, technology, biology and many more. Check it out here → dashboard.scoutinscience.com

By promoting women in science, we're not only celebrating their achievements, but we're also creating innovation and a better future for all of us.

*Sources: https://www.nationalacademies.org/annual-report/2018/studies-and-projects-completed-in-2018 https://ncses.nsf.gov/pubs/nsb20201 https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/unesco-research-shows-women-career-scientists-still-face-gender-bias https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/unesco-research-shows-women-career-scientists-still-face-gender-bias https://www.aip.org/statistics/reports/women-physics-and-astronomy-2019 https://ncses.nsf.gov/pubs/nsf19304/ https://www.industry.gov.au/publications/stem-equity-monitor/workforce-data/gender-pay-gaps-stem-and-other-industries https://www.wipo.int/women-and-ip/en/news/2021/news_0002.html https://nltimes.nl/2022/03/08/netherlands-counts-62-female-entrepreneurs-decade?utm_source=canva&utm_medium=iframely https://www.empowerwomen.org/en https://legaljobs.io/blog/women-entrepreneurs-statistics/?utm_source=canva&utm_medium=iframely