We had a wonderful time at the International Conference on Malaria and Other Blood Parasites of Wildlife in Badajoz! It was great to meet old and new colleagues, exchange ideas, and spend several days talking about wildlife malaria and other blood parasites.
![Sketch of a woman scientist looking through a microscope with various symbols to represent STEM and the following text:
On this day we celebrate the continuous efforts, resilience and achievements of women and girls in STEM.
It’s a day to remind us that there still remain significant gaps for girls and women in STEM fields and to actively think about what actions we can take to narrow these gaps.
According to global and regional trends for women in STEM 2025, women represented only 33% of the global research workforce. And many disciplines within STEM, such as engineering (18%) and computer science (20%), have much lower representation of women compared to, for example, life sciences (50%) [Women in STEM network, 2025]
In 2025, it was calculated that women in the UK got paid 83p for every pound men got paid (median hourly earning) [Women in STEM network, 2025].
Did you know that women with established careers in academia are 2x likelier to abandon their career compared to men? This decision is often the result of a toxic work environment and lack of support when challenging the status quo [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.it.2024.05.004]. There are also many examples of women entering the STEM fields, but then end up leaving due to negative experiences, biases and job rejections.
What are some of the things you can do?
-Provide a supportive environment at work and call out biases
-Form/join a committee within your organisation aimed to support and promote gender equity
-Join supportive communities (Women in STEM Network, Women in STEM, STEM Women, Women in Malaria, Herminthology, Women in Parasitology, Mothers in academia, Mama is an academic, For women in science, etc.)
-Provide mentorship or seek mentorship as a mentee
In the end we want to take the opportunity to thank our wonderful WiM community for sharing our goal of gender equity in science (and beyond) and for driving forward our mission. Let's keep creating and fighting for a fair environment!
-The WiM Team-](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:4kcdl4spbibydpt5edrohqyo/bafkreiho4y3ylbcbbasydit7igfdwxqqp3shbnzu3qgy763uf4bmjvpko4)
