Research Databases on Women in Science and Technology

Where to find the cross-country and time-series data on women's participation in science and technology - the primary databases researchers and policy professionals rely on.

Major databases

• UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS). The largest source of comparable cross-country data on women researchers, R&D personnel, and tertiary STEM enrollment. Free public access, regular updates.
• OECD Stat - Education and Skills. OECD-country data on women's participation across education levels and fields, with strong time-series back to the 1990s.
• EIGE Gender Statistics Database. EU-focused but methodologically influential; covers research, employment, and decision-making indicators.
• ITU DataHub. Cross-country data on the digital gender divide, internet use, mobile ownership, and ICT skills with regular gender disaggregation.
• European Commission "She Figures" dataset. Published roughly every three years; the most comprehensive comparable data on women in research and innovation across the European Research Area.
• World Bank Gender Data Portal. Cross-cutting gender indicators including women's labour-force participation, tertiary enrollment by field, and economic outcomes.
• National statistical offices. Most countries publish more granular data than international aggregators - useful when you need detail.

Specialized databases

• OWSD member database - women scientists in developing-country contexts
• NSF Women, Minorities and Persons with Disabilities in Science and Engineering reports - the most detailed US data, biennial
• AAUW research - long-running US time-series on women in higher education
• Times Higher Education and QS gender breakdowns - institution-level data tied to university rankings

Methodological notes

Cross-country comparisons of women in STEM data are harder than they look. Different countries define "researcher" differently, count R&D personnel differently, and disaggregate STEM disciplines differently. UNESCO's SAGA toolkit and the She Figures methodology have done substantial work harmonizing definitions, but country-level idiosyncrasies remain. When using any of these databases for serious analysis, read the methodology notes first.