Secretary-General Urges Commitment to Ending Bias, Investing More, in Message for International Day of Women and Girls in Science

Following is UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ message for the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, observed on 11 February:

For too long, discriminatory stereotypes have prevented women and girls from having equal access to education in science, technology, engineering and maths.  As a trained engineer and former teacher, I know that these stereotypes are flat wrong.  They deny women and girls the chance to realize their potential — and deprive the world of the ingenuity and innovation of half the population.  On this International Day, I urge commitment to end bias, greater investments in science, technology, engineering and maths education for all women and girls, as well as opportunities for their careers and longer-term professional advancement, so that all can benefit from their ground-breaking future contributions.