"Marie Curie is a great example of why we must invest in women and girls in science" says one tweet.
In 2015, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution declaring February 11 as the International Day of Women and Girls in Science. Today, as the hashtag #WomenInScience trends on Twitter, organisations around the world are using it to honour the women who contributed to science in the past, and highlight those who are leading innovation today.
According to UN Women, less than 30 per cent of researchers worldwide are women, and only around 30 per cent of all female students select STEM-related fields in higher education. "Long-standing biases and gender stereotypes are steering girls and women away from science related fields," they write, urging everyone to support #WomenInScience.
Here are some inspiring stories of women who have made, and are making, important contributions in science:
The official handle of The Nobel Prize shared a post to honour Marie Curie, the first woman to be awarded the Nobel Prize, the first person to be awarded it twice and the only person to receive it in two scientific fields. Marie Curie conducted pioneering research on radioactivity.
"Marie Curie is a great example of why we must invest in women and girls in science," wrote the International Atomic Energy Agency in their tweet.
Nobel Laureate Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin was also honoured by The Nobel Prize. She was "one of the most outstanding X-ray crystallographers of her time," they said in their tweet.
UNDP India shared the story of Akanksha Kumari from New Delhi, who "defied convention" to become an electrical engineer.
The Antarctic Report used the #WomenInScience Day to share a throwback picture of the six women who arrived at the South Pole 50 year ago. "Today, thousands of women work in Antarctic science," they say.
Here are some of the other posts celebrating women in science:
How inspiring are their stories, right?
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