by Alexandra Schafhauser
World Science Day for Peace and Development, celebrated every 10 November, highlights the important role of science in society and also underlines the relevance of science in our daily lives.
World Science Day for Peace and Development aims to ensure that people are kept informed of developments in science. It also stresses the role scientists play in improving our understanding of the Earth and in making our societies more sustainable.
Science, a Human Right
The theme for 2018 is “Science, a Human Right”, which celebrates the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (art. 27), and of the Recommendation on Science and Scientific Researchers. Putting an emphasis on the fact that everyone has a right to participate in and benefit from science, it will serve to spark an important discussion on ways to improve access to science globally and to the benefits of science for sustainable development.
RightsTech Women is working to:
- achieve gender parity in all levels of STEM education and employment at all levels in all countries, in parallel with increased human rights education and human rights infrastructure-building in all countries;
- ensure that all women and girls have equal access with men and boys to – and are encouraged to pursue and contribute to – scientific knowledge, and that this right is reflected in national legislation, policies and practices;
- ensure that women and girls can equally know about, contribute to, produce, steer, and enjoy the benefits of scientific progress (understood as a function of time, including the present time, thus including recent benefits and up-to-date knowledge);
- ensure that female scientists have equal access to join and lead national and international scientific advisory bodies, panels and councils, which set national and international research and innovation agendas and which distribute grants, including by actively encouraging female scientists to apply for leadership roles and company board positions;
- eliminate any restrictions based on sex in all fields of scientific employment, including those in civil service jobs, and to change relevant laws, policies, and job advertisements to remove limitations based on sex;
- implement measures to stimulate girls’ interest and confidence in science and encourage them to pursue scientific education, such as: through the establishment of role model programs; eliminating gender bias where it exists in learning materials, in testing or among science teachers; and, through expanding access to scholarships, bursaries, fellowships, and the like;
- identify and eliminate barriers to women, including women in different reproductive situations (for example, women of childbearing age, working women with children, or women returning to work after having children), in hiring, retention and promotion in STEM fields by eliminating discrimination and harassment, and by introducing positive action measures designed to target and eliminate inequalities.
Don’t forget about the hashtags #ScienceDay and #Right2Science.
Read more about UNESCO’s work on Science.