Mother Nature Needs Her Daughters: A Homeward Bound Global Review and Fact Sheet Investigating Gender Inequality in STEMM

Abstract

The world is at an important cross road. Many key indicators measuring human progress are on the ascent: better education, declining infant mortality, population growth, fewer pandemics, and reduction of infectious disease; more food for most people, extraordinary innovation and global access to technology and information. However, as a consequence of these human achievements, the physical environment and natural systems which support the survival of our species (and 9 million others) are experiencing unprecedented change. Most notably, the planet’s climate is rapidly heating, with a multitude of unpredictable consequences for biodiversity and food security. Globally we are experiencing largescale habitat destruction and deforestation, rampant biological invasions, a mass extinction, ubiquitous plastic pollution, collapse of natural food resources and critical loss of insect populations. The biological system is at tipping point, under threat of irreversible collapse; at this pivotal time, we need collaborative, global leadership that prioritises these issues. We are cognizant that the very practice of leadership that got us to where we are today - male dominated, competitive, aggressive, short term, ‘I’ over ‘we’, and often using the common assets for personal gain - is manifestly unsuited to guiding humanity to where it needs to be to survive and indeed prosper - together. Indeed, we need a radically new model of leadership; the easiest way to shift the current leadership paradigm? Include more women. To inform this discussion, we have compiled an extensive literature review and fact sheet on the systemic challenges faced by women with a STEMM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Medicine) background in both the developed and developing world