The UNESCO Science Report was released this week, with a key message highlighting the ongoing fall of female participation in some fields of science. Its release coincided with the annual celebration of International Day of Women and Girls in Science which takes place annually on the 11th February.
The newly appointed UN Secretary-General António Guterres has also commemorated the day by drawing awareness to the ongoing ‘discriminatory stereotypes’ that have ‘prevented women and girls from having equal access to education in science, technology, engineering and math’.
UNESCO has said that the data should be a ‘wake-up call’, and encourages the need to empower women and young girls to both learn and research. 
Overall, women globally fall behind men in research, despite talent being needed in many growing and expanding fields of science.