The United Nations General Assembly adopted 11 February as the International Day of Women and Girls in Science. Science and gender equality are vital for the achievement of the internationally agreed SUSTAINABLE development goals.
The University of Malta鈥檚 Department of Gender Studies in collaboration with the University Gender Issues Committee, and a number of faculties, is looking at ways to achieve equal access to and participation in science, engineering and computing for girls and women. It was felt that gender stereotypes and social expectations still exist among the general population with regard to physical sciences. This has led to a dearth of women and girls in these fields as Eurostat establishes. The 2015 Global Gender Gap Report maintains 28 percent of tertiary-level students enrolled in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) in Malta were female, while the percentage for males stood at 72 percent. For the same year, the percentage of those who graduated in STEM studies stood at 25 for female, 75 for male.
When women and girls do opt for sciences they are more likely to take up mathematics, statistics, social and behavioural sciences, as well as scientific areas linked with health. When women graduate from STEM they are less likely to establish themselves in the field in which they have specialised.
It was therefore deemed crucial that Maltese women's achievements in these fields are promoted through Malta's new Science Centre and through the media. It was also felt that further outreach needs to be undertaken to get more girls and women interested in these fields. Different pedagogical approaches might need to be adopted to encourage more boys and girls in gender atypical fields.
