A Brave New World: International Day Of Women And Girls In Science Statement By Education Cannot Wait Executive Director Yasmine Sherif

The future of the human race hangs in the balance. With science and technology far outpacing the capacity of most humans to keep up, we must arm our future scientists and future leaders with the knowledge, skills and critical thinking abilities they need to survive and thrive in the brave new world of the 21 st century.

To achieve these goals, we must empower an entire generation of girls in crises to receive the education, training and resources they need to improve their knowledge and skills base in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math STEM.

Today, we celebrate the 10 th Anniversary of the International Day of Women and Girls in Science , and recognize the groundbreaking work of leading women scientists throughout history such as Marie Curie , who pioneered research on radioactivity and was awarded two Nobel Prizes in Science.

Today, we also recognize the power and potential of an entire generation of future scientists. Brave leaders such as ECW Global Champion Somaya Faruqi , who led the Afghan Girls Robotics Team in Kabul and built a ventilator out of car parts.

Together with ECW and our strategic partners, strong visionaries like them inspire our global charge to ensure girls have access to STEM education from an early age, and women can break through the glass ceiling to find their rightful place in universities, labs and research facilities across the globe.