Closing the research divide: Amplifying the voices of women in science

The progress towards gender equality remains ambivalent, based on current statistics. The Global Gender Gap Report 2023 recognizes advances in education and a slight improvement in the health and survival dimension. Yet, as of 2018, only 33% of researchers worldwide were women, according to UNESCO research.

This International Women's Day, we want to amplify the voices of all women and champion their rights as the foundation of a sustainable future.

To ignite this change, we have chosen 5 Research Topics hosted by women to find solutions to the most pressing women-related issues. All articles are openly available to view and download.

Additionally, we have curated a list of 5 interviews that spotlight the experiences of female researchers across the globe.

5 Research Topics by women, for women

1 | Women in Cardiovascular Epidemiology and Prevention

This Research Topic elevates the work of women scientists across all fields of basic and clinical cardiovascular medicine. It comprises the entire breadth of cardiovascular epidemiology and prevention research.

Editors: Liesl Joanna Zühlke, Amanda Henry, and Stefania TRIUNFO.

2 | Women in Breast Cancer: 2022, volume II

This Research Topic advances scientific and clinical knowledge of breast cancers. In particular, it addresses novel findings and innovative hypotheses in prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of early breast lesions and malignancies.

Editors: Margaret Gatti-Mays, Rachel Wuerstlein, Ariella Hanker, and Svasti Haricharan

3 | Women in Science: Aging and Public Health 2022

The demographics of aging –whether differences in life expectancy or shouldering the burden of care for our aging populations— reflect that aging is a women's issue.

In the aging and public health field, many women are tackling important questions about risk factors for successful aging and intervention strategies for promoting health and quality of life. For this reason, we have included a Research Topic that highlights female contributions to public health, specifically in the field of aging.

Editors: Marcia G Ory and Colette Joy Browning

4 | Women in Science - Translational Medicine 2021

This Research Topic centers attention on women's contributions to translational medicine, including research inspired by women, achievements of female researchers, and studies led by women exploring technology and health.

Editors: Victoria Bunik and Claudine Habak.

5 | Women’s coping in various spheres in society: Challenges and opportunities

This Research Topic studies women's behaviors in various cultural contexts to demonstrate how women encounter, experience, and cope with stressful and challenging environments and events in different social spheres. The goal is to reveal how these experiences lead to both women's distress and growth, resilience, and leadership.

Editors: Orna Braun-Lewensohn, Claude-Hélène Mayer, and Shir Daphna-Tekoah

Leading the way: 5 women researchers championing change

1 | Women and health communication

We spoke with Iccha Basnyat (Ph.D., MPH) to find out what sparked her passion for women's representation in health communication and what it was like to be a researcher in this field.

She is editor of Centering Women, Health, and Health Equity in Health Communication, a Research Topic that explores women-centered understandings of health and health communication.

Read full interview

2 | Women shaping a more sustainable planet

Glory Oguegbu is an award-winning climate change activist who is working to bring solar power and renewable energy to communities in Nigeria without electricity.

She joined us to explore how women’s initiatives drive to sustain our nine planetary boundaries.

Read full interview

3 | Women in microbiology

Anna Kramvis discusses the progress of hepatitis B research and the challenges faced, including the COVID-19 pandemic, lack of funding, and low vaccination rates.

She is professor emerita and director of the Hepatitis Virus Diversity Research Unit (HVDRU) at the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa and specialty chief editor for the Virology section of Frontiers in Microbiology.

Read full interview

4 | Women leaders in the digital age

Dr. Ivana Dusparic discussed how her research contributes to creating safe and sustainable cities and human settlements.

Ivana is an associate professor at the School of Computer Science and Statistics at Trinity College Dublin, Ireland, where her research predominantly focuses on the AI-based optimization of resources in large-scale urban infrastructures.

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5 | Women creating a more just economic system for all

Professor Jayati Ghosh is an economist who has advised governments and consulted for international organizations. She taught economics at Jawaharlal Nehru University for 35 years and has authored 20 books and published 200 scholarly articles. She is also a Professor of Economics at the University of Massachusetts and, in March 2022, joined the UN Secretary General's High-level Advisory Board on Effective Multilateralism.

Read full interview