Fixing the leaky pipeline: Researchers convene in Addis Ababa to advance gender equality in STEM

Dozens of IDRC-supported researchers are tackling the so-called “leaky pipeline of STEM,” a persistent form of gender inequality that presents serious implications for human progress.  

Referring to the weak retention of women in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), UN Secretary-General António Guterres has said, "Women and girls belong in science. It is time to recognize that inclusion fosters innovation, and let every woman and girl fulfil her true potential." 

The representation of women in STEM education decreases as they advance from primary to tertiary levels. In the workforce, women constitute only one-third of STEM professionals. The reasons for this problem — interconnected gender biases and systemic barriers — are primarily discussed in Western and Northern contexts, which is why IDRC invested in a group of 16 research projects to understand the specific obstacles hindering gender equality in STEM in certain countries in Africa and Latin America. 

From a gender audit at a major university in Zimbabwe to an innovative fellowship program supporting Indigenous women scientists in Mexico, 19 IDRC research teams are using different approaches to close the knowledge gap.

Each of the projects is promising on its own, but as a cohort of research, their intersections have their own lessons to share. That’s why IDRC hosted a workshop in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in 2024, bringing together nearly 30 representatives from the research teams to generate a research agenda, decide on next steps to overcome the identified challenges and find common strategies and opportunities for collaboration across Latin America and Africa.

Over the course of three days, the group took stock of each research team’s experience in their country, region, or STEM field of focus.

Some reported how their team helped to increase awareness of the need for gender policies at STEM institutions and support for the development of gender guidelines and strategies. Other teams spoke about how they digitized and shared important data from physical archives of individual institutions, while others focused on their experiences building up the confidence of young women to engage in male-dominated fields like agricultural training and research.

The various teams observed notable intersections across their work. They highlighted the pervasive gender biases that make entry into STEM programs a challenge, the lack of educational opportunities for women to progress from STEM programs into STEM careers, as well as exclusive workplace environments and policies that prevent women in STEM careers from achieving their maximum potential.

Researchers were able to identify shared research interests and findings, opening up opportunities for future interregional collaboration and plans to advocate for change from a united front. East African teams were particularly interested in how the team from Colombia successfully scaled their gender, equality and inclusion strategies across different educational institutions by continuously collaborating and co-creating with local stakeholders. Opportunities to discuss how that approach may be replicated or built on was an important driver of the activity.

Raising awareness with policymakers

Following the workshop, researchers attended the 2nd Interregional Dialogue for Education and Development in Latin America, the Caribbean and Africa, organized by Obreal, the African Union Commission and Brazil’s Ministry of Education. The policymakers in attendance appreciated the interaction with the researchers — somewhat of a rarity in such fora — asking for their input and discussing the nuances of their country or institutional contexts. For example, a team from Bolivia and Brazil talked about the gaps they found in gender-disaggregated data collection with the ministers, university associations and organizations as well as university chancellors and other stakeholders at the political forum at the African Union Headquarters in Addis Ababa.

As one of IDRC’s research partners, Esther Matemba, described, “The bigger issue of lack of data on African higher education and the Global South region in general was prevalent in the discussions. This confirms the need for more research in education and the critical role of education researchers in Africa. The whole experience was eye opening, motivational and inspirational for me as an African education researcher and in my work of promoting engineering education research in Africa.”

Policymakers left the event with a new awareness of the lack of data on gender, equity and inclusion in higher education and research systems and some of the innovative steps being taken to fill that gap. These opportunities for exchange between researchers and policymakers are crucial to highlight the role of evidence in decision-making, particularly when there is an interest in cross-national and cross-regional collaboration. 

The six days devoted to the promotion of gender equality in STEM fields in the Global South deepened the momentum at IDRC and among researchers and stakeholders to move forward on gender inclusion. The IDRC research partners in Breaking Barriers and GIST expect to finalize their research and share their findings in 2025.