In recent years, the number of women involved in science has significantly increased. However, although there are encouraging signs, women are still under-represented in science, whether it is in scientific research, as women account today for only 30% of the world’s researchers, and even lower percentages at higher decision-making levels.

If it is widely accepted that creating knowledge and understanding through science will allow us to find solutions to today’s acute economic, social and environmental challenges, in order to achieve sustainable development throughout the world, then science cannot continue to deprive itself of the full scientific potential of over half of the planet’s population. Gender equality in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) is not only a matter of fairness, or a basic human right, but should be considered as a crucial means to promote scientific and technological excellence.

Yet, the way in which data related to STEM are currently predominantly collected renders women and their concerns, needs and responsibilities relatively invisible, and the growing demand for cross-nationally comparable statistics on the representation of women in STEM is only slowly starting to be met. As a consequence, the lack of data and indicators, as well as of available analytical studies, can obstruct the design, monitoring, and evaluation of policies aimed at successfully tackling the issue of gender inequality in STEM. Effective STEM policies need to be evidence-based and hence supported by relevant statistics and indicators. There is therefore an urgent need to develop new indicators and methods to collect and analyze sex-disaggregated data on women’s participation in STEM around the world, in order to elaborate and implement appropriate solutions.

In this context, given its mandate in science and its past work on women in science, UNESCO has a key role to play in taking up these issues and working to overcome gender disparities in access to, influence over, and use of STEM.

SAGA is being implemented following several steps:

In the current first stage, inventory and gap analyses of existing statistics and indicators as well as of policy instruments for gender in STEM are being produced. Then, experimental methodological approaches will be developed.

In the middle stage of the implementation of the project, a number of countries from around the world will be chosen to test and implement pilot surveys using the methodologies previously developed, and will benefit from capacity-building activities delivered to National SAGA Teams as well as from early-on data collection. By participating in SAGA, these chosen pilot countries will thus have at their disposal enhanced tools to measure and analyze the status of women and girls in science in the country, using innovative methodologies and tested indicators on gender equality in STEM, and allowing for informed decision-making processes on such issues.

Finally, in the last stage, data from pilot countries will be analyzed, incorporated into the UIS database as well as in UNESCO’s Global Observatory of Science Policy Instruments (GO-SPIN), and results will be evaluated. A Technical Paper containing methodological proposals, lessons learned and best practices will also be published and its conclusions widely disseminated.

This project is being implemented by UNESCO, through a technical team of professionals:

• SAGA Steering Committee (SC): the SC is the internal UNESCO team for management and oversight of the project. It is a technical committee composed of UNESCO specialists in relevant subjects.
• SAGA Advisory Committee (AC): the SC will be supported by an AC, composed of selected senior international experts in STEM policy, indicators and gender equality. The AC will provide strategic input and advice towards the achievement of the objectives, as well as help to ensure that the results are shared widely.

Members of SAGA Advisory Committee (AC):

• Alice Abreu,
  Acting Director of GenderInSITE
• Gloria Bonder,
  Coordinator of the Global Network of UNESCO Chairs on Gender and the UNESCO Regional Chair on Women, Science and Technology in Latin America
• Alessandra Colecchia,
  Head, Economic Analysis and Statistics Division, OECD Directorate for Science, Technology and Innovation
• Saniye Gülser Corat,
  Director, Division for Gender Equality, Office of the Director-General, UNESCO
• Marlene Kanga AM,
  National President 2013, Engineers Australia, Academy of Technology Sciences and Engineering (ATSE) (Australia) 
• Shirley Malcom,
  Head, Education and Human Resources Programs, American Association for the Advancement of Science
• Verdiana Grace Masanja,
  University Director of Research and Postgraduate Studies and Full Professor of Mathematics, University of Rwanda
• Roberta Pattono,
  Directorate-General for Research and Innovation of the European Commission
• Papa Seck,
  Statistics Specialist, UN Women

Other national and regional efforts addressing these issues have expressed interest to join forces with UNESCO’s SAGA project, and this will be explored at the first meeting of the SAGA Advisory Committee.