“We have made progress, but we need to continue fighting for gender equality in science and in all areas of society.”

"Today we celebrate the International Women's Day, established in 1975 by the United Nations. About a month ago, on February 11, we celebrated the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, which has been celebrated annually since 2015. Both dates are important to promote gender equality and the empowerment of women in different areas, including science and the work world in general.

In Portugal, most scientists in the field of arts and humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, and health sciences are women. The only fields which show a contrary trend are the engineering sciences and technology. This representation of women with PhD Doctoral Degrees’ in Portugal is higher than the European Union average in all the considered fields of knowledge. In the majority of the European Union countries, there is a smaller proportion of female scientists than men scientists in relation to the total active population. Portugal and Denmark are the exception, with a higher percentage of female scientists than the European average. In fact, Portugal stands out in the percentage of female researchers in all sectors considered, although the lowest participation reflects the business sector, and the highest the government sector (Source: Eurostat 2021).

Finally, the percentage of women who publish in all scientific areas in Portugal is higher than the European average, indicating that the proportion of women researchers in the academic sector is also higher than the European average. (Source: Elsevier, 2020). The innovation results show that the relative position of Portugal, regarding patent applications, is somewhat distant from the one of the leading innovation countries. Nonetheless, Portugal's growth of over 200% in the 2010-2020 period was sharper than the European average of 6%. Although only one in ten inventors in Europe is a woman, the ratio in Portugal is of one woman/female inventor for every three men. (Source: European Commission, 2019).

We have made progress, but we need to continue fighting for gender equality in science and in all areas of society. So that more women can get into decision-making positions. We need to create an inclusive and equitable environment so that all people, regardless of their gender, feel valued and capable of achieving their goals. Science is a fundamental area for the humanity advancement, and we need all the brains and talent available to expand science."

Cecília Rodrigues
Vice-Rector
University of Lisbon