Outdated Drivers Are Slowing You Down
One free scan finds every outdated or missing driver and matches the right update for your exact hardware.Free scan · exact hardware matchWindows Errors? Fix Them Before They Spread
Repair common Windows errors and clear accumulated junk for a smoother, more stable PC - no reinstall needed.Free scan · no reinstalliTechGuides is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Learn more
Yes. Women made up 31.4% of researchers worldwide in 2023, compared with 29.5% in 2013, according to the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS). That is a gradual increase, not parity—and it measures researchers, not everyone working in science or every dimension of equality in scientific careers.
How much has the global share changed?
The UIS’s 2026 release reports that women represented 31.4% of researchers worldwide in 2023, up from 29.5% in 2013. The UIS describes this as “slow progress toward gender parity.” The figures indicate a modest rise over a decade, while men still accounted for most researchers globally. UIS 2026 R&D Data Release
![The Women Who Make History Collection [3-Book Box Set]: Women in Science, Women in Sports, Women in Art](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51w+pYlG5jL._SL160_.jpg)
A separate UIS release published in 2025 reported women at 31.1% of researchers in 2022, compared with 29.4% in 2012. These are the figures and comparison windows reported in that release; they should not be combined with the later release as though they were one fixed, unrevised series. UIS 2025 R&D Data Release
Recommended Free Tools
Why does the global average hide important differences?
Women’s representation varies by region. The UIS’s 2026 release puts the share at around 45% in Central Asia, Northern Africa, and Latin America and the Caribbean. In the UIS’s 2025 release, the 2022 regional figures ranged from 23.5% in Eastern Asia to 46.5% in Central Asia. These values come from different releases and reference years, so they show variation across regions rather than a like-for-like ranking for a single year. UIS 2026 R&D Data Release; UIS 2025 R&D Data Release
#1 Best Overall
Representation also differs by career stage, field, and employer. A worldwide headline percentage cannot show whether women have equal access to particular disciplines, senior roles, funding, or stable research careers.
Does education participation translate into equal representation among researchers?
Not directly. UNESCO’s 2025 factsheet reports women accounted for 52% of bachelor’s students, 55% of master’s students, and 47% of doctoral students globally. It also reports women made up 35% of science graduates. These figures describe different populations and measures—not a single cohort followed from university into research. The factsheet’s graduate data cover 2018–2023, while its headline researcher data are from 2023 or the most recent year available. UNESCO, “Status and Trends of Women in Science” factsheet; UIS, “Measuring gender equality in science: Why better data matter”
Where do differences by discipline and employment sector show up?
Fields of study
UNESCO reported that women represented 28% of engineering graduates and 40% of computer science graduates in 2018. These are discipline-specific graduate figures from that year, not current estimates of the share of researchers employed in those fields. UNESCO, “UNESCO challenges actors everywhere to close the gender gap in science”
Free tools Windows power users keep installed
One-click scans. No signup required.
Research employers
UNESCO’s 2025 factsheet says women are approaching equitable representation in academic and public-sector research, while men continue to dominate private-sector research in most countries. The business-sector summary is based on data from 95 countries; it should not be read as a complete census of every country. UNESCO, “Status and Trends of Women in Science” factsheet
What can the figures tell us—and what can’t they?
The headline share answers a specific question: what proportion of researchers are women? It does not measure the full experience of scientific careers, including pay, promotion, leadership, research funding, retention, or working conditions. The cited releases do not provide one harmonized global figure covering all those dimensions.
The UIS is the custodian agency for the Sustainable Development Goal 9.5 research-and-development indicators. Its 2026 release added or updated data for 43 countries, drawing on the UIS 2025 R&D Statistics Survey and partner contributions. International coordination makes comparisons useful, but the figures still depend on national reporting and data updates. The researcher-density measure—full-time-equivalent researchers per million inhabitants—is distinct from women’s share of all researchers. UIS 2026 R&D Data Release; UIS, “Measuring gender equality in science: Why better data matter”
Rank #4
Why does the gap persist, and what does UNESCO recommend?
There is no single explanation. UNESCO Programme Specialist Ana Persic said “there is no single reason for the gender gap in science,” in a 2024 UNESCO explainer. UNESCO identifies a combination of contributing barriers, including social, cultural, and gender norms; underrepresentation in leadership; unsupportive learning environments; and inadequate work environments and cultures. This is a synthesis of factors, not a quantified account of how much each one causes the gap. UNESCO, “UNESCO challenges actors everywhere to close the gender gap in science”
UNESCO’s Call to Action promotes approaches that address education and workplaces together, including role models who challenge stereotypes, educational strategies for girls, and policies for inclusion, diversity, and equity at work. It calls for participation from governments, institutions, funders, private actors, and civil society. UNESCO Call to Action on Gender Equality in Science
Better measurement is part of that response. The UIS emphasizes internationally comparable, gender-disaggregated statistics alongside institutional evidence on recruitment, career progression, leadership, funding, and retention. Those measures help distinguish an increase in the overall share of women researchers from progress in other parts of scientific careers. UIS, “Measuring gender equality in science: Why better data matter”
Quick Recap
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
