How the World Can Tackle the Yawning Gender Gap in the Sciences

Feb 10, 2025 | UNEP Nature Action
UNEP
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With the planet facing a barrage of environmental concerns, there has never been a greater need for scientists capable of finding solutions to the triple planetary crisis: the crisis of climate change; the crisis of nature and biodiversity loss and desertification; and the crisis of pollution and waste.

That’s why experts say the world needs to encourage more women to join—and stay in—the sciences.

According to United Nations data, just one-third of all researchers are women, while female scientists tend to have shorter and less-lucrative careers than their male counterparts. That is part of a gender gap that has lingered in the sciences for decades, despite the fact that many other fields have reached parity in the sexes.

So, why exactly are the sciences still largely the purview of men? And what can be done to create more opportunities for women?