Gender in STEM (GIST) Initiative


Cross-Cutting Themes

Gender in STEM (GIST) is a three-year IDRC investment to advance gender analysis and women’s leadership in STEM fields in the Global South. GIST funds researchers in the Global South and increases localized evidence on the key factors that constrain or support women scientists. The initiative also identifies innovative approaches to strengthen the measures of higher-education institutions and others to be more inclusive of women and gender analysis in STEM. IDRC funded the Breaking Barriers projects in 2020 to address this knowledge gap. The cohort of 10 studies analyzed trends of gendered participation in Southern science systems and the systemic and systematic inequities that prevent women from advancing in various fields and sectors in Latin America and sub-Saharan Africa. These studies generated evidence of the unique obstacles facing women and other marginalized groups in STEM in low-income countries. Building on this pilot initiative, in 2021 funding was expanded for GIST.

Contributed by: Canada's International Development Research Centre (IDRC)