International Day of Women and Girls in Science: Do We Understand Equality?
For the eleventh consecutive year, February 11 marks the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly to promote full and equal access to science for women and girls and to ensure their participation in it. The initiative responds to the historical exclusion of women from science and their long-standing invisibility – consequences that persist today in the form of stereotypes, systemic barriers, and unequal career opportunities.
Science should be based on talent and ability, yet women and girls continue to face obstacles to equal opportunities. Although Slovakia is home to many successful female scientists, these remain individual success stories rather than evidence of a systemic trend. Promoting gender equality in science is crucial not only from the perspective of fairness, but also for the quality of research itself. A more diverse research environment brings broader perspectives, better questions, and more innovative solutions.
Since 2021, the Slovak Academy of Sciences (SAS) has implemented a Gender Equality Plan. Among its key achievements are a return-to-work scheme supporting parents after maternity and parental leave, and the introduction of a formal mechanism for reporting and addressing sexual harassment.
In 2024, the Institute for Research in Social Communication SAS analysed the discourse on gender equality in science at the SAS and other academic institutions in Central and Eastern Europe (Slovenia, Romania, Poland, and Bulgaria). The study – accepted for publication in the journal Gender, Work & Organisation (Wiley – builds on collaboration within the recently completed H2020 ATHENA project, which focused on developing gender equality plans.
The forthcoming publication suggests that achieving a deeper understanding of gender equality across the analysed geopolitical region remains a challenge. A prevailing view still equates equality primarily with numbers – having more women in research teams – or assumes that women “naturally” gravitate toward specific fields. There is limited recognition of how gender socialisation from early childhood and within the school environment significantly shapes girls’ and women’s interests, self-confidence, and career choices. Researchers also report experiences with various forms of barriers, harassment, and workplace bullying, which disproportionately affect women and early-career researchers.
A more critical discourse is gradually emerging. In addition to gender issues, it highlights another fundamental challenge within academia: a naïve belief in meritocracy. The assumption that everyone has equal opportunities to conduct high-quality research and publish in prestigious journals often fails to reflect reality. Visible and invisible barriers, workplace dynamics, and the unequal distribution of essential but undervalued “non-academic” labour frequently obscure the fact that an exclusive focus on measurable “performance” overlooks both the substance of scholarly work and the complex, collective, and relational efforts without which no research institution could function.
The International Day of Women and Girls in Science provides an opportunity to pause and critically reflect on how inequalities in science are created and maintained daily – and what can be done to address them. Without such reflection, narratives about “natural differences” or the myth of guaranteed success in a meritocratic scientific system will continue to prevail. A truly inclusive academic environment requires a shift in perspective – from simply “retaining talent” to addressing issues of power, epistemic justice, and institutional responsibility. At the same time, it is important to resist the illusion that the work toward gender equality has already been completed.
Prepared by: Miroslava Šudila Žilinská, Gabriel Bianchi, Zuzana Očenášová, Institute for Research in Social Communication SAS
The study will soon be published in Gender, Work & Organisation under the title Discourses of Gender Equality in Academic Institutions in Selected Central and Eastern European Countries.