Following a UN resolution, the International Day of Women and Girls in Science has been celebrated every year on February 11 since 2016. Across the globe, not enough well-educated and highly qualified women are working in research, meaning research potential goes undiscovered. Women are still underrepresented in science. According to the UNESCO Institute for Statistics, only a third of people working in research across the globe are women. The number of women working in STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) is particularly low. The objective of the day is therefore to promote the full and equal participation of women and girls in science and to celebrate the decisive role they play in science and technology.

TU Dresden is committed to the goal of creating a university where all genders are equal and has embedded this intention both in its mission statement and its fundamental principles. Moreover, measures have been adopted in recent years both for working towards gender equality at our university and for increasing the proportion of women in science. These include measures for targeted career support, networking and increasing the visibility of women in science. In spring 2022, TU Dresden initiated the “Women@DDc” network together with the Barkhausen Institute and DRESDEN-concept, the aim of which is to create a network for women working in research and science management at TU Dresden and in DRESDEN-concept institutions. In celebration of this year’s International Day of Women and Girls in Science, the network invites you to their After Lunch Talk on Women in Science at the COSMO Science Forum on February 13 from 2:00 pm until 4:00 pm (event details). This event gives researchers the opportunity to converse with professors and to find out about their careers in science and any challenges they have faced along the way.

Increasing visibility requires role models – be they contemporary or historic. Have you heard of Johanna Weinmeister or Charlotte Bühler? In the Visibility project, Unit Diversity Management takes a closer look at pioneering, scholarly women and their academic achievements in our university’s history. The objective is to increase the visibility of these inspiring women with places of remembrance, exhibitions and honorary naming.