She Is Already Here

There is a version of this story you've heard before — the one about the gap, the barriers, the numbers that never seem to move. That story is real, and it matters. But it isn't the only story.

This article is the other one.

Right now, in 2026, women are rewriting what STEM looks like — in laboratories, boardrooms, classrooms and code. The progress is hard-won, imperfect and incomplete. But it's real, it's growing, and it belongs to every woman who has ever been told she doesn't belong in this field.

Here are 10 things that are true about women in STEM today, backed by evidence and worth celebrating.

1. Women's STEM enrolments are growing fast.

Between 2015 and 2022, the number of women enrolling in Australian university STEM courses increased by 28% — more than three times the growth rate for men (9%) over the same period. (STEM Equity Monitor 2024, Australian Government Department of Industry, Science and Resources)

2. The gender pay gap in Australian STEM is shrinking.

The gender pay gap in Australian STEM industries improved from 17% in 2022 to 16% in 2023 — a small number representing real progress in one of the sector's most entrenched inequalities. (STEM Equity Monitor 2024)

3. Women now lead in key biological and environmental sciences.

Girls are already the majority of Year 12 students in biological sciences, earth sciences, chemical sciences, and agricultural and environmental studies in Australia. (YouthInsight / STEM Equity Monitor analysis, 2023)

4. Women have made 68% more inroads into STEM occupations over a decade.

From 2012 to 2022, the number of women in STEM-qualified occupations in Australia grew by 68% — a structural change in who builds and shapes the country's scientific and technological future. (STEM Equity Monitor 2024)

5. Globally, women now make up one-third of all researchers.

UNESCO estimates women account for approximately 33% of researchers worldwide in 2025, with women comprising 45% of R&D researchers in Latin America and the Caribbean. (UNESCO Institute for Statistics, 2025 / Women in STEM Network)

6. Australia is investing in women in STEM at every stage.

The Australian Government funds multiple active programs across the STEM pipeline, including Superstars of STEM, Elevate scholarships (250+ recipients in 2025 alone), the Curious Minds mentoring program for Year 9 and 10 girls, and the L'Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science fellowships, which have recognised 74 outstanding Australian and New Zealand scientists since 2007. (Dept. of Industry, Science and Resources; ATSE; L'Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science ANZ)

7. Women STEM graduates are outpacing men in degree completion growth.

From 2021 to 2022, STEM course completions by women in Australia increased even as total domestic enrolments declined. (STEM Equity Monitor 2024)

8. The Fortune 500 has 50% more female-led STEM companies than a decade ago.

In 2015, there were 8 female-led STEM companies on the Fortune 500. By 2024, that number was 12 — a 50% increase. (Spencer Stuart via AIPRM, 2024)

9. Global institutions are treating women in STEM as a priority, not a footnote.

2025 marked the 10th anniversary of the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, and UNESCO launched its "Imagine a World with More Women in Science" campaign in February 2025, supported by international development funding. (UNESCO, 2025)

10. The science is clear: diversity in STEM makes research better.

Diverse research teams consistently produce more innovative, rigorous and widely applicable outcomes. UN Women has noted that closing gender gaps in employment could boost GDP per capita by up to 20%. (UN Women; World Bank, 2024)

The question was never whether women belong in STEM. The question is why it took so long for STEM to recognise that it needed them.

A note on where we still need to go

This article celebrates progress, and that progress is real. But it exists alongside persistent gaps. In Australia, only 15% of the STEM workforce are women (STEM Equity Monitor 2024). Only 31% of female STEM graduates end up working in STEM, compared with 56% of men. The pay gap, while shrinking, has not closed.

Celebrating wins doesn't mean ignoring what remains. It means building enough momentum to finish the work. HerOrigin exists because the story isn't over yet, and because women in STEM deserve community, visibility and support at every stage of that story.