The UNESCO Science Report 2021 finds that women worldwide have made tremendous gains in the academic world but they remain far behind men in emerging fields such as data science, robotics, computing, and artificial intelligence.
While women in the United States have obtained an edge over men in degrees earned at all levels of education, they remain far behind men in some fields. For example, women earn only 20 percent of all degrees awarded in engineering in the United States. Women in many developing nations make up a far higher percentage of engineering degree recipients than is the case in the United States.
Here some other key findings from the report:
- Women are underrepresented at the top of multinational tech companies, despite efforts to close the gender gap in technical and leadership roles.
- Across 69 national science academies, women made up 10 percent or less of members in 30 countries.
- High-tech start-ups led by women received just 2.3 percent of venture capital in 2020.
- Women accounted for 33 percent of all researchers worldwide, compared to 28 percent in 2013.
- In academia, women tend to receive less grant funding, even though they are as productive as men.
- On an annual basis, they publish as much as men but are less likely to have their work accepted in high-profile journals or to be first or last authors.
- Women are leaving tech fields in greater numbers than men. They cite workplace conditions, lack of access to creative roles, and a stalled career as the primary reasons for their decision.