Kathmandu. Today is International Day of Women and Girls in Science. This day is being celebrated in different countries of the world emphasizing the need to ensure equal access and participation of women and girls in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

The United Nations passed a resolution on December 22, 2015 and decided to celebrate February 11 every year as this day. Gender inequality has long existed in science, technology, engineering and mathematics at all levels around the world. Although women have made significant progress in expanding their participation in higher education, their representation in these areas is still low.

Gender equality has been one of the main 'agenda' of the United Nations. The world organization has been saying that the empowerment of women and girls and gender equality will contribute significantly not only to the economic development of the world but also to achieving all the goals and objectives under the 2030 agenda for sustainable development.