International Day of Women and Girls in Science 2022

The 7th United Nations International Day of Women and Girls in Science Assembly aims to recognize the role of women and girls in science, not only as beneficiaries, but also as agents of change.

Let us celebrate the women printing an indelible mark in science, from Dorothy Vaughan (1910 – 2008), a mathematician and programmer who became the first Black supervisor of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NASA), to Mariéme Jamme, an award-winning Technologist and pioneer in system change and Founder and Chief Executive Officer of the iamtheCODE, the first African-led global movement to mobilize governments, the private sector, philanthropic foundations, investors and civil society to advance STEAMD (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Mathematics and Design) education. Today marks a day for all women and girls in science!

To celebrate this day, we asked some of the pioneering women in archaeology and within the MAEASaM project what it means to be a women in science. Here are their voices:

The thing I really value about being a woman in the field of archaeology is the fellowship of other women. It can be difficult to balance the demands of a family and a career that often involves time away from home. Yet archaeology is a discipline that is full of amazing strong women, whose friendship and support have made that balance much easier for me and who act as daily inspiration.

Professor Stephanie Wynne-Jones

MAEASaM project Co-Investigator, Tanzania

Deputy Head of Department of Archaeology at the University of York

I am passionate about the application of innovative geospatial analytical techniques to projects in research and development with the aim of understanding complex interrelated processes.

Dr Pamela Ochungo

MAEASaM Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Kenya

British Institute of Eastern Africa

What I love most about archaeology is the possibility of making connections. Connections with objects, landscapes, the past and the present and, above all, with people. I find it rewarding and challenging that archaeology calls for questioning one’s positionality in their work on a daily basis.

Dr Stefania Merlo

MAEASaM Project Manager

University of Cambridge

Many women and girls, however, continue to be excluded from participating fully in science. According to United Nations, 2022 (https://www.un.org/en/observances/women-and-girls-in-science-day)

Women are typically given smaller research grants than their male colleagues and, while they represent 33.3% of all researchers, only 12% of members of national science academies are women
Women still account for only 28% of engineering graduates and 40% of graduates in computer science and informatics.
In cutting edge fields such as artificial intelligence, only one in five professionals (22%) is a woman.

This exclusion is not immune to the disciplines of geospatial sciences and archaeology. Now more than ever, it is time to open the platform to empower female professionals through the strength of mentorship and capacity building in sciences.

“Science and gender equality are both vital for the achievement of the internationally agreed development goals, including the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.”

-The UN website, regarding International Day for Women and Girls in Science 2022