Global participation of women in scientific research remains uneven, with significant implications for innovation and equitable development. According to UNESCO, women comprise less than 30% of the world’s researchers, and hold only 22% of positions in science and technology. This underrepresentation impacts research agendas and their effects on women’s lives.
The United Nations General Assembly designated February 11th as the International Day of Women and Girls in Science to highlight this ongoing disparity, particularly in strategic fields and decision-making roles. The lack of female representation directly affects research priorities and outcomes.
The UN recently warned that more than 4 million girls worldwide could be subjected to female genital mutilation in 2026, underscoring the need for diverse perspectives in addressing global health challenges.
Research led by women expands the pool of qualified talent, sheds light on often-overlooked socioeconomic barriers, and generates solutions with a tangible impact on other women’s economic and social conditions. Fundación WWB Colombia, which supports research on the lives of women in Colombia, asserts that female participation in science is crucial for closing structural gaps.
“Research in the Pacific region is a matter of equity and social justice,” explains Soraya Husaín Talero, Research Director at Fundación WWB Colombia. “It’s a region with immense biodiversity and deep inequalities, where research allows us to protect what is at risk, as well as recognize and value the ancestral knowledge that sustains life in these territories.”
Husaín Talero notes that many policies and programs have been designed without a true understanding of the experiences of Black, Indigenous, and rural women. Research conducted within these communities generates the evidence needed to build relevant and sustainable public policies, and contributes to social reconstruction and peacebuilding. “Without research, any action risks reproducing harm instead of closing gaps.”
Other researchers agree that the presence of women transforms the questions, methods, and scope of science. Florencia Mora Anto, a researcher with the “The Crafts and Knowledge of Rural Women of Valle del Cauca” project, part of the Fundación WWB Colombia’s Virtual Museum of Women, Territory and Life, describes research as “a living process that combines scientific and poetic thinking. We investigate from the detail, emotion, and contact with communities to understand life in its complexity and contribute to improving their conditions.”
Diana Vernot, a university professor and researcher on the “Women, Migration, Informality and Cooking” project, emphasizes that increasing women’s participation in science diversifies the research field. “The entry of women into research broadens the horizon of questions, challenges biases, and allows us to discuss who has access to, remains in, and is visible within the scientific system. Overcoming these gaps is key to enriching the country’s research landscape.”
The Fundación WWB Colombia’s Research Fund, which promotes the generation, dissemination, and appropriation of knowledge aimed at understanding and reducing inequalities affecting women in the Colombian Pacific region, has funded 141 research projects with an investment exceeding $8 million. 72.34% of these projects are led by women, with female participation reaching 80% at the doctoral level and 88.24% at the master’s level. All of the research incorporates a gender perspective.
Research by Kathleen Salazar on mobility with a gender focus, for example, provided key insights into the gaps in public transportation agendas in Cali. The work of María Daniela Portela with the “aliñadoras” (spice blenders) of Tumaco led to a circular economy process that now generates income, community organization, and international recognition. “What we built from the research had a real future. The ‘aliñadoras’ understood that this knowledge could become entrepreneurship and economic autonomy,” says Portela.
In a country marked by deep inequalities, supporting research led by women means producing better evidence, designing more relevant public policies, and strengthening economic and social autonomy in the territories.
Virtual Museum of Women, Territory and Life
This approach to research is exemplified by the Virtual Museum of Women, Territory and Life, a digital platform that brings together research supported by Fundación WWB Colombia and presents it through audiovisual narratives, testimonies, and interactive resources.
Currently available research includes: Training in sexual and reproductive rights from the grassroots (Chocó), an investigation analyzing community-based peer education strategies for the promotion and prevention of sexual and reproductive health in a context marked by rurality, displacement, and limited access to health services.
“The Crafts and Knowledge of Rural Women of Valle del Cauca,” which documents the productive, environmental, and community knowledge of rural women, recognizing them as managers of economy, territory, and life.
“Camellando en Fucsia” (Cali): a study on employability and income generation among transgender women in Cali, Jamundí, Yumbo, and Palmira, revealing how labor exclusion pushes these women into precarious circuits and how participatory research allows for more accurate diagnoses and relevant solutions.
“Routes of Flavor and Resistance” (Cali): research on migrant and cook women from Cali’s Comuna 11, analyzing informal labor, cooking as a strategy for economic autonomy, and the construction of community networks based on culinary knowledge.
“Women Weaving the Future” (Silvia, Cauca): a project examining women’s political participation and community organization, identifying structural barriers and the potential of female leadership for social impact and peacebuilding.
“The Museum puts a face and data to the reality of women in the Pacific and demonstrates that science is not only produced in laboratories. Here, the value of ancestral knowledge is recognized and knowledge is democratized without losing rigor,” explains Soraya Husaín.
For more news on politics, peace, health, justice, and current events, visit the Colombia section of EL COLOMBIANO.
