The goal is to promote and increase the population of women and girls in the scientific fields whether at school or at work.
It is important to consider this day because even though the world is beginning to recognize more and more the value of women in this field, there are still inequalities that persists; for example according to UNESCO ( United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) :
-Only 33% of researchers are women and tend to have shorter, less well-paid careers
-Women make up 70% of the health and social care workforce, but their salaries are 11% lower than their male counterparts.
-Only about 30% of all female students choose STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) fields in higher education.
And these are only examples among many other types of inequalities that women face in this area.
These inequalities are due to social constructions built through prejudices and biases that we may have with regard to women's abilities in the intellectual fields.
However, we need to stop doubting their abilities because it feeds the doubt that women may have about their own abilities and this phenomenon is called stereotype threat :
Stereotype threat is a difficult situation in which individuals risk or feel at risk of conforming to stereotypes about their social group. As for example here with women in the scientific field ; when a woman takes a test in mathematics, her score may be affected by the stereotype that women have lower mathematical abilities than men. This consequence of stereotype threat was demonstrated by the social psychologists Spencer, Steele and Quinn in 1999.
The goal would be to reduce this stereotype threat embedded in our society in order to create a more welcoming system for women in science and more generally, a more welcoming system for any individual.
To do so we can for example reassure by reminding the obligation of neutrality of the school (showing that boys have as much to gain as girls, that it is not a question of denying the differences but of giving the same rights to all).
Also, to back up my words it is undeniable that whether the past or today, there have been and still are very brilliant women in the scientific environment.
Rosalind Franklin is a perfect example, she was a physical chemist and she first formulated, in an unpublished report, the helical structure of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), a discovery that was stolen by Watson and Crick who accessed her work.
This day allows us to honor this woman and so many others who have gone through and are still going through inequalities in the scientific field. That said, the changes look favorable, hoping that one day everyone will be equal in this passionate area.