In a recent report, the United Nations has revealed that only one in five space industry workers across the world are women. The report, which was released to highlight the theme of Women in Space during World Space Week (October 4 – October 10, 2021), also showed that the number of women employed in the international space industry is only 20-22 per cent of the workforce—a figure which is roughly the same as it was 30 years ago. This underlines the fact that despite global initiatives to promote women in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) fields, the gender inequality in these fields still persists.
Recent research highlighted by the UN also suggests that women are visibly underrepresented as researchers in STEM fields, with a global average representation of 28.8 per cent. This is true for all regions across the world. In the aerospace industry itself, the participation of women has fluctuated at around 20 per cent for 30 years, showing that despite women showing more interest in STEM fields and the space industry, their entry and careers are extremely hindered. This is further proved by the fact that only 11 per cent of astronauts till date have been women.
Gender inequality has been a long-standing and widespread issue for women pursuing an education or a career in STEM fields. To bridge this gender gap in the international space industry, the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) has launched the Space4Women programme to promote women’s empowerment. The inequalities women face in the international space industry are also being addressed during the World Space Week this year. The goal set by the UN is to bring more awareness about issues of gender diversity while also identifying the key obstacles that women entering space-related careers face. Once these core problems are identified, the UN intends to create a plan on ending such disparities.