For centuries, ideas based on the works of Hippocrates – born in 460 BC and considered one of the most important figures in the history of Medicine – influenced modern philosophical studies, like those of Immanuel Kant and Jean-Jacques Rousseau. These works, which claimed that female nature was incompatible with intellectual aptitude, crossed Antiquity and the Middle Ages and even reached Charles Darwin who, in his publications On the Origin of Species (1859) and The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex (1871), described the female sex as intellectually inferior within the human species.
If this idea of women’s intellectual inferiority influenced thinking for so many centuries, should we really be surprised that, in the 21st century, we are still discussing equality of opportunities and access?
Many women have shaped the history of science through fundamental discoveries, overcoming gender barriers and other prejudices regarding their abilities or their role in society. Yet their discoveries never received the same visibility as those of men or… were attributed to men.
In addition to the women who shaped 20th-century science, such as Marie Skłodowska Curie (the first woman to receive a Nobel Prize), Ada Lovelace (the first woman becoming a computer programmer), Rosalind Franklin (who discovered the structure of DNA), Katherine Johnson (NASA mathematician), Lise Meitner (who co-discovered nuclear fission), Hedy Lamarr (actress and inventor, pioneer of Wi-Fi technology) or Jaqueline Goes de Jesus (the Brazilian biomedical scientist who led the sequencing of the SARS-CoV-2 genome in Latin America), we should also highlight, from much earlier times, the astronomer Hypatia of Alexandria (c. 350-415).
Outside the Western context, there are also striking examples: Tu Youyou, the Chinese scientist and Nobel Laureate in Medicine whose research was decisive in preventing malaria; Katsuko Saruhashi, the Japanese geochemist and first woman elected to the Science Council of Japan, renowned for measuring carbon dioxide in seawater; and Deborah Ajakaiye, the Nigerian geophysicist and first female professor of Physics in West Africa.
Portugal also features several prominent women scientists, from past and present generations, who have established themselves in medicine, biology, physics and engineering, including Maria de Sousa (immunology), Laura Ayres (virology), Branca Edmée Marques (radioactivity), and contemporary researchers like Maria Manuel Mota (malaria) and Mónica Bettencourt-Dias (cell biology), internationally recognised for their contributions.
The Mulheres na Ciência project – Ciência Viva brings together portraits of hundreds of active Portuguese women scientists across several volumes, showcasing an important part of this talent that, for so many decades, remained hidden.
This list could be much longer and would still include only those women we remember today, or who were, in some way, eventually recognised. One can only imagine how many more might have contributed to scientific, social and cultural progress had they enjoyed the same opportunities as the men of their time.
Fortunately, it is tempting to think that today things are different and that everyone has the same opportunities to achieve and fulfil their full potential, in any field. But is that really the case?
Established by the United Nations in 2015, the International Day of Women and Girls in Science is observed on 11 February, towards promoting full and equal access to – and participation in – science for women and girls.
We know that gender stereotypes still influence girls’ choices regarding the academic paths they wish to pursue, despite the examples mentioned above of women who overcame prejudice and obstacles to become leading figures in science.
But is that the only reason why women supposedly lack a “natural” inclination towards science? Or are we facing deeper phenomena of unequal recognition?
Does the “Matilda Effect” – a term coined by Margaret W. Rossiter[1] to describe the bias that favours male academics, sidelining women who contributed so much to science – persist? And are women engaged in scientific activities (academia, research or industry) still relegated to secondary roles, without due recognition of their contributions?
Examples abound: Lise Meitner and Rosalind Franklin are now definitive cases of this lack of recognition, as are Jocelyn Bell Burnell, Svetlana Mojsov, Katalin Karikó and Donna Strickland, among many others.
The stories of Katalin Karikó and Donna Strickland are clear examples of hope and perseverance. The Hungarian scientist Katalin, for instance, was demoted for insisting on working on messenger RNA (mRNA) at a time when she could not secure research grants and earned less than a laboratory technician, as she told Wired magazine. Yet giving up was never in her vocabulary, and this line of research ultimately led to her receiving the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2023. Meanwhile, the Canadian physicist Donna, who only secured a full-time academic position eight years after completing her PhD – a fact she partly attributes to the difficulties faced by married academics (with women’s careers often suspended in favour of their husbands’) – won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2018.
If, on a global scale, stories of invisibility and lack of recognition are repeated, in Portugal some indicators appear somewhat contradictory and require careful reading.
According to the most recent data from She Figures 2024 (data from 2021)[2], Portugal appears to be on the right track. According to these figures, Portugal ranks 10th among European Union Member States in the overall gender equality index in research and innovation. The country scores relatively highly in research participation, segregation across the educational pipeline and research sectors, and moderately in gender dimension in R&I content, career progression and decision-making.
The report also indicates that Portugal has achieved gender balance in the proportion of women among PhD graduates – even though, between 2013 and 202,1 the percentage of women PhD graduates fell from 55% to 51%. Women represent 43% of researchers in Portugal, based on 2021 data. Gender balance has been achieved in the higher education and public sectors, where women account for more than half of researchers. However, women remain underrepresented in the business sector, accounting for only 30%.
What these figures show is that between 2013 and 2021 there was progress in the number of women with PhD and in the percentage of women scientists and engineers in the overall workforce, as well as a higher proportion of women researchers.
In other words, Portugal does indeed have many women in science. But are science and research appealing career paths for women and girls?
When choosing their area in high school education or at university, can girls realistically aspire to professional paths marked by support, recognition, fair and equitable treatment? Can they believe in opportunities for career progression, projects’ leadership, participation in decision-making, and the fulfilment of their full potential?
According to She Figures 2024, regarding career progression, the proportion of women in Grade A[3] positions has improved since 2013 (22%), but women still hold less than a third of these posts (28% in 2022). Portugal is below the EU-27 average for this indicator. As for women’s participation in decision-making bodies, Portugal meets the EU-27 average, at 37.5%.
However, in the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) areas, in which INESC TEC operates, the situation is less favourable to women than in other scientific areas, particularly regarding pay. According to a 2025 study[4] (with data up to 2023) entitled Gender Pay Gap nas profissões CTEM: evolução na última década, women accounted for only 28.39% of STEM professionals in 2023. Engineering stands out as the field with the most penalising pay gap: in 2023, women in this area earned 14% less than men with the same features, while in ICT the gap was 10%. The Equal Pay Law and the Pay Transparency Directive, as public policy instruments, have led organisations to correct salary inequalities that tend to persist.
Returning to a broader context, a study recently published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) in January 2026, entitled Gender stereotypes across nations relate to the social position of women and men: Evidence from cross-cultural public opinion polls[5], concludes that “thirty years on, stereotypes about men and women have changed very little”. It also shows that gender stereotypes remained largely unchanged between 1995 and 2023; that perceptions of equality in competence have increased, especially in countries with more women studying and working; and that social roles remain unequal at work and at home, with a heavier burden on women. These prejudices have a real impact: they limit opportunities and are even reproduced by Artificial Intelligence systems.
Civilisational progress, like gender equality and the proper recognition of women’s role in science (and in all areas of life on equal terms with men) does not happen “naturally”. It must be constantly reaffirmed, reinforced through public policy, practised daily through consistent measures, and protected against the setbacks that, regrettably, we have been witnessing.
Each of us, in our professional sphere, within our families, and across our wider circles of friends and social relations, can make a difference: by calling out the continuation of stereotypes, dismantling prejudice, supporting girls in choosing less traditional career paths, supporting women throughout their journeys, giving them visibility, encouraging them to lead, to claim their contributions and rights, to step out of the shadows and to have their own voice.
At INESC TEC, despite the merit of all that we have already achieved in this cause – and which we will soon be sharing with you – we still have ground to cover. May this International Day of Women and Girls in Science also serve as a renewed commitment to a fairer, more diverse and more inclusive science.
By Maria da Graça Barbosa, member of the Board of Directors
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