By Laura Victoria García and Blandine Serve
OECD Directorate for Science, Technology and Innovation
08 March, 2022
The under-representation of women and other social groups in many fields of science, technology, and innovation (STI) has long been a source of concern. The Covid-19 pandemic has threatened progress towards gender balance that has been made in recent years. Gaps persist in a variety of STI activities, including in access to education in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), and in participation in academia and the broader research workforce.
Against this backdrop, most countries have established strategies and introduced policy initiatives that address such disparities. The OECD has been tracking these policy efforts through the STIP Compass interactive policy database, a joint European Commission-OECD initiative that aims to collect in one place qualitative and quantitative data on national trends in STI policy. The policy database also links to relevant statistical indicators from the STI.Scoreboard platform. The portal’s dashboard on gender balance and inclusiveness includes information on more than 200 policy initiatives from 47 countries and the European Union (EU). The dashboard provides visual snapshots of the policy data by country or territory, yearly budget expenditure range and type of policy instrument used (see Figure 1).
Figure 1. Most frequent policy instruments tackling gender balance and inclusiveness
Source: EC-OECD (2022), STIP Compass: International Database on Science, Technology and Innovation Policy (STIP), edition March 2, 2022, https://stip.oecd.org
The database has information on 70 strategies and plans targeting gender imbalance in 30 countries and the EU. These strategies and plans articulate governments’ visions for effective gender equality and inclusion in STI, recognising that better representation of women improves research excellence and relevance. They seek to integrate the gender dimension across government policies, institutions and regulations. To name a few:
In 2021, the EU strengthened provisions and requirements on gender equality (and inclusiveness) in its flagship Horizon Europe scheme, aiming to create gender-equal working environments and to improve research quality.
The 2016 Irish Gender Strategy sets out a roadmap to achieve gender balance and improve the representation and progression of women in all STEM careers.
Norway introduced in 2019 an Action Plan for Female Entrepreneurs, which aims to better adapt entrepreneurship policies to the specific challenges women face.
Korea launched in 2019 the Fourth Basic Plan for Nurturing and Supporting Female Scientists and Engineers, which aims to raise the qualification level of female scientists and engineers and to ensure gender equality in the STI system.
When considering all fields of studies jointly, OECD education statistics show that gender parity exists in tertiary education entry rates. However, graduation rates and certain scientific fields reveal significant disparities.
The size of gender gaps in STEM varies by scientific field of study and by level of education. While more than half of OECD countries have reached gender parity in tertiary education graduates in natural sciences, mathematics and statistics, no OECD country has done so for graduates in Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and in engineering, manufacturing and construction. Gaps are wider for doctorate graduates, as only one-third of OECD countries have achieved gender parity in natural sciences, mathematics and statistics doctorates, and no country has reached gender parity in ICT and in engineering, manufacturing and construction.
According to the latest OECD Research and Development Statistics, women are under-represented in the total amount of researchers in the OECD area. Over the last decade, such gaps have either only decreased slightly or worsened in some countries (see Figure 2). Only Latvia has reached gender parity in the number of researchers (50.7% of women in the total researcher population in 2018). Various countries are still lagging behind significantly, with less than 30% of women participation in the research workforce.
Figure 2. Structural deficit of women among researchers, OECD
Source: OECD (2022), Research and Development Statistics: R-D personnel by sector of employment and qualification, OECD Science, Technology and R&D Statistics (database), https://doi.org/10.1787/19fc7ea3-en.
STIP Compass includes information on 87 policies providing direct financial support to address gender disparities, such as programmes funding research, entrepreneurship and innovation that specifically target women. For instance:
Australia’s Boosting the Next Generation of Women in STEM programme, launched last year, aims to increase the pool of future women STEM leaders by co-funding university scholarships, in partnership with industry.
Japan introduced in 2015 its Initiative for Realising Diversity in the Research Environment, which includes support for training female research leaders and aims to ensure a balance between work and family.
Germany’s 2020 Women in Science, Research and Innovation initiative aims to support research projects that increase the visibility and representation of women in the STI field.
Canada launched in 2018 the Women Entrepreneurship Fund, a CAD 30 million (Canadian dollars) direct investment. The fund targets businesses owned or led by diverse women, to help them grow and reach new markets.
The UK, through its 2016 Women in Innovation Campaign, awarded grants and hosted workshops to support female entrepreneurs in their ambitions.
In the STIP Compass database, governments from 29 countries report 58 awareness campaigns and science and innovation challenges, prizes, and awards. These also help to underline that the STI field offers many opportunities for women. For example:
Since 2011, the EU Women Innovators Prize has given additional public recognition to outstanding women entrepreneurs to inspire other women to follow suit.
The Girls in ICT Day Malaysia annual event, held since 2020, aims to build awareness around the gender digital divide, to support technology education and skills training, and to encourage more girls and young women to actively pursue STEM careers.
The Argentinian For Women in Science contest, active since 2007, rewards scientific excellence in research projects led by women.
The US Women in Science “STEAM Camp” Partnership, launched in 2015, is an intensive summer camp that exposes teenage girls to the STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Design, Mathematics) disciplines and career possibilities. It builds leadership capabilities and enhances cross-cultural awareness for high school girls from regions around the world.
Noting these policy efforts but well aware of how much more work remains, some governments continue to develop policy intelligence to improve the design and implementation of STI policies. Examples include:
The 2021 Finnish National Review of Gender Equality and Diversity Advancement of Higher Education Staff comprehensively assessed gender and diversity gaps in university staff and provided concrete recommendations for reform.
Since 2021, the Spanish Women and Science Unit and the Observatory Women, Science and Innovation has aimed to raise the evidence base on gender equality and thereby better inform policies targeting the gender imbalance.
These are only some of the statistics and policy practices featured in the STIP Compass’s gender balance and inclusiveness dashboard. We invite you to visit to keep track of the latest international comparative data, as we strive collectively for gender equality in STI!
EC-OECD (2022), STIP Compass: International Database on Science, Technology and Innovation Policy (STIP), edition February 24, 2022, https://stip.oecd.org
OECD (2021), Science, Technology and Innovation Outlook 2021: Times of Crisis and Opportunity, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/75f79015-en
OECD (2022), Research and Development Statistics: R-D personnel by sector of employment and qualification", OECD Science, Technology and R&D Statistics (database), https://doi.org/10.1787/19fc7ea3-en
OECD (2022), Education at a glance Graduates and entrants by field, OECD Education Statistics (database), https://doi.org/10.1787/0d5ea7b3-en