Inspiring Bangladeshi girls towards STEM, one role model at a time

Dr Firdausi Qadri of Icddr,b, Dr Salma Sultana of Model Livestock Advance-ment Foundation and Prof Samia Subrina of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET)—three Bangladeshi women scientists have recently made us proud. They were included in the sixth edition of the Asian Scientist 100 list, which is a Singapore-based science and technology magazine. The list was published to celebrate the success of the region's "best and brightest, highlighting their achievements across a range of scientific disciplines." A few months ago, another young Bangladeshi astrophysicist, Tonima Tasnim Ananna, topped the 2020 edition of Science News magazine's list "The SN 10: Scientists to Watch", for her outstanding work and research on black holes.

These achievements are significant, as underrepresentation of women and girls in the workforce and in higher education with regard to the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) remains a serious problem. Although women around the world are defying gender stereotypes and making meaningful contributions in science, there is still a long way to go.