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STORY: UN / WOMEN AND GIRLS IN SCIENCE
TRT: 02:22
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGES: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 11 FEBRUARY 2026, NEW YORK CITY / FILE
FILE - NEW YORK CITY
1. Wide shot, exterior United Nations Headquarters
11 FEBRUARY 2026, NEW YORK CITY
2. Wide shot, ECOSOC Chamber
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Sir Rodney Williams, Governor-General, Antigua and Barbuda:
“Women and girls are not just participants in global science, they are architects of humanity's future. Their insights are crucial to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, from SDG4 on Quality Education and SDG5 on Gender Equality, to SDG9 on Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure. Yet the disparities remain stark.”
4. Wide shot, ECOSOC Chamber
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Sir Rodney Williams, Governor-General, Antigua and Barbuda:
“Globally, 250 million fewer women than men have access to the internet, and the gender gap in mobile phone ownership remains above 15 percent in low and middle-income countries. Without targeted investments in digital literacy and teacher training, millions of girls will be excluded from the next wave of scientific opportunity. To bridge these divides, we must fund the programmes that equip girls with the foundation of STEM skills and mentorship networks, especially across sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and the Pacific.”
6. Various shots, Williams receives a commemorative scarf from South Korean science student Emma Lee Do
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Emma Lee Do, Student, Republic of Korea:
“I know many of you will talk about very important topics today, but I'm here because I have a secret to share. Science is not just a subject in school. Science is a power. For me, this power didn't start with a microscope or a textbook. It started on my living room rug reading cartoons about science. I fell in love with science because of the characters who show me that they were curious, brave, and who showed me that asking why, is the most important thing you can do. Those books made science feel like a grand adventure and they made me feel like I could be a part of it.”
8. Wide shot, delegates applauding
Marking the 11th International Day of Women and Girls in Science, the Royal Academy of Science International Trust (RASIT) today (11 Feb) hosted an event at the United Nations Headquarters in New York aiming to ensure that every girl can imagine a future in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).
Globally, one in three researchers is a woman, and women make up just 26 percent of the workforce in data and the artificial intelligence fields.
The Governor-General of Antigua and Barbuda, Sir Rodney Williams, told the meeting that “women and girls are not jusInnovation,ants in global science, they are architects of humanity's future,” and “their insights are crucial to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, from SDG4 on Quality Education and SDG5 on Gender Equality, to SDG9 on Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure.”
Yet, Williams said, “the disparities remain stark.”
He noted that “globally, 250 million fewer women than men have access to the internet, and the gender gap in mobile phone ownership remains above 15 percent in low and middle-income countries.”
Without targeted investments in digital literacy and teacher training, the Governor-General said, “millions of girls will be excluded from the next wave of scientific opportunity.”
To bridge these divides, he continued, “we must fund the programmes that equip girls with the foundation of STEM skills and mentorship networks, especially across sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia and the Pacific.”
Emma Lee Do, a young student from South Korea, told the meeting that “science is not just a subject in school. Science is a power.”
Lee Do said, “for me, this power didn't start with a microscope or a textbook. It started on my living room rug reading cartoons about science. I fell in love with science because of the characters who show me that they were curious, brave, and who showed me that asking why, is the most important thing you can do. Those books made science feel like a grand adventure and they made me feel like I could be a part of it.”
The event was co-sponsored by the Permanent Missions of Antigua and Barbuda, Albania, Chile, Cyprus, Greece, Kenya, Kuwait, Malta, Moldova, Romania, San Marino, and Viet Nam to the United Nations, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), UN Women, World Intellectual Property
Organisation (WIPO), World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), and Pan-African Intergovernmental Agency for Water and Sanitation for Africa.
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