International Day of Women and Girls in Science

The International Day of Women and Girls in Science was established in 2015 by the United Nations (UN) to recognize the critical role women and girls play in science and technology communities. In doing so, the UN recognizes, and seeks to remedy, the significant gender gap that has persisted throughout the years at all levels of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines all over the world. Even though women have made tremendous progress towards increasing their participation in higher education, they are still under-represented in these fields. By proclaiming February 11 the International Day of Women and Girls in Science the UN hopes to support and promote the access of women and girls and their participation in science, technology, engineering and mathematics education, training and research activities at all levels. The following resources hope to inspire interest in science and technology. 

Women in Science Today

Jennifer Doudna - Doudna is an American biochemist who has done pioneering work in CRISPR gene editing as well as other fundamental contributions in biochemistry and genetics. She received the 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Emmanuelle Charpentier "for the development of a method for genome editing." 

Jennifer Eberhardt - A social psychologist at Stanford University, Eberhardt investigates the consequences of the psychological association between race and crime.

Jane Goodall - The most famous primate scientist in history, Goodall is renowned for her work with chimpanzees and as a champion of animal rights.

Temple Grandin - Grandin is a prominent author and speaker on both autism and animal behavior. She is a professor of Animal Science at Colorado State University.

Science Resources for Kids

Finding Wonders: Three Girls Who Changed Science by Jeannine Atkins 

Kitchen Science for Kids: 26 Family-Friendly Experiments for Fun Around the Houseby Liz Lee Heinecke

Weird Science by Amanda Deibert 

A Wrinkle in Time: Book of Fun, Facts, and Science by Aubre Andrus

Science Resources for Adults

The Code Breaker: Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race by Walter Isaacson 

The Other Einstein: A Novel by Marie Benedict

Forces of Nature: The Women Who Changed Science by Anna Reser & Leila McNeill