Editorial: Women in surgical oncology: 2021

Currently, female researchers represent merely a minority, accounting for an\r\nestimated 29.3% who end up covering this position worldwide, with a great variability\r\naccording to each country (1). Specifically, Central Asia exhibits the greatest proportion\r\nof female researchers with an estimated 48.2% as opposed to South and West Asia with\r\nthe lowest count globally (i.e. 18.5%) (1).\r\nIn response to such a large gender gap in the scientific research community, the\r\nUNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) is in the midst of developing new indicators in\r\norder to better comprehend the reasons behind women’s decisions to pursue one career\r\nover another. Several could be the reasons implicated in limiting and discouraging\r\nwomen’s access to the scientific community, including ancient biases and gender\r\nstereotypes. By further understanding such issues, the UIS project concurrently aims\r\nat reducing the gender inequality in science, technology, engineering and mathematics\r\n(STEM) fields, by possibly promoting reforms in policies and implementing changes in\r\nfavor of gender equality in all countries with the ultimate goal of empowering women (2)