According to UNESCO’s Status and Trends of Women in Science report published in 2025, worldwide only one third researchers is a woman.
Contact :
Communication.eidd@u-paris.fr
At the same time, young women are more likely than young men to enroll in higher education, with 46% of women and 40% of men pursuing higher education within five years of completing secondary school. However, women account for only 32% of all students in engineering schools. At EIDD, we are proud to announce that this year women represent 41% of the student community.
The first World Conference on the Status of Women was held in Mexico in 1975. Fifty years later, women and young scientists still represent only one third. Behind this figure are women scientists who continue to fight for progress that remains fragile. On the occasion of the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, we highlight inspiring figures to continue encouraging our students to break the glass ceiling.
Claudie Haigneré
France’s First Woman Astronaut
Thirty years ago, Claudie Haigneré became the first French woman to travel into space, spending 16 days aboard the Russian space station Mir. A scientist and astronaut, she embodies the excellence and spirit of innovation that drive French research. Her career continues to inspire the engineers of tomorrow to push the boundaries of knowledge and technology.
Rose Dieng-Kuntz
Computer Scientist and Pioneer of Artificial Intelligence
Rose Dieng-Kuntz, born in Dakar in 1956, was an outstanding computer scientist and artificial intelligence researcher, widely recognized for her exemplary career and commitment to science. The first African woman admitted to École Polytechnique in 1976, she led research projects at INRIA and received the Irène Joliot-Curie Award for “Scientist of the Year.” Throughout her career, she championed education, knowledge sharing, and equal opportunities in science, becoming a source of inspiration for engineers and young researchers around the world
Read more : https://www.lemonde.fr/planete/article/2006/01/11/rose-dieng-un-cerveau-sans-frontieres_729645_3244.html
Katsuko Saruhashi
Geochemist
Katsuko Saruhashi, a Japanese geochemist, was a pioneer of ocean science. She was the first scientist to measure carbon dioxide levels in seawater, developing innovative tools to do so, and she demonstrated the dangers of radioactive fallout in the atmosphere and oceans. The first woman to earn a PhD in chemistry from the University of Tokyo, she also contributed to the ban on atmospheric nuclear testing and founded the Society of Japanese Women Scientists to promote equality in scientific research.
Read more : https://sciences.ulb.be/portraits/scientific-woman-of-the-week-katsuko-saruhashi
Jocelyn Bell
Physicist and Discoverer of Pulsars
Jocelyn Bell Burnell, an astrophysicist born in 1943 in Belfast, is renowned for discovering the first pulsar in 1967—a type of neutron star emitting highly regular radio signals—while she was a doctoral student at the University of Cambridge and involved in the construction of a radio telescope. This discovery, published in Nature, transformed our understanding of compact stars and marked a milestone in the history of astrophysics. After completing her PhD in radio astronomy, she pursued a career as a researcher and educator and received numerous honors for her scientific contributions. Read More:https://www.refletsdelaphysique.fr/articles/refdp/pdf/2020/01/refdp202064p30.pdf
Lise Meitner
Physicist
Lise Meitner, an Austrian physicist, played a decisive role in the discovery of nuclear fission by interpreting and explaining this fundamental phenomenon alongside Otto Hahn. Forced to flee Nazi Germany, she continued her career with ethics and integrity, refusing any involvement in military applications. Her life and work continue to inspire engineers and researchers today, illustrating the importance of scientific excellence, innovation, and integrity in research.
Read More : https://theconversation.com/lise-meitner-une-marie-curie-autrichienne-sans-prix-nobel-243634
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