Professor Liz Harry, Acting Director of the ithree institute. Photo by Joanne Saad.
Today is the first ever International Day of Women and Girls in Science (opens an external site). In December last year the United Nations recognised that women and girls continue to be excluded from fully participating in science, even though we've had some global improvement in this matter over the past 15 years.
According to a report by UN conducted in 14 countries, there is still a disparity between male and female university graduate numbers, especially when it comes to Masters' and Doctorate studies in science related fields.
"The achievements of women in all areas of science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) have historically been very poorly acknowledged compared to the achievements of male colleagues," writes Victoria’s Minister for Women Fiona Richardson in Women's Agenda today. "Their roles and contributions to major scientific breakthroughs have been diminished, with male colleagues often receiving the accolades and rewards for their hard work. This is changing, but slowly."
The UN General Assembly has declared 11 February as a date when women's scientific contributions will be actively celebrated across the globe, hopefully leading to further gender equality and empowerment of women in science.
So, today we are highlighting some already impressive and leading female scientists right here in Australia.
Visit SBS to meet the six impressive Aussie women scientists (opens an external site).