This past week saw the first UN Space for Women expert meeting, including a high level panel attended by the UN Deputy Secretary General Ms. Amina Mohammed, sponsored jointly by UN Women and UN OOSA (Office of Outer Space Affairs). Recommendations will inform Sustainable Development Goal #5 (SDG5 - gender equality) and UNISPACE+50 thematic priority 7 (capacity building).

Space-based technologies empower women to take a skill and turn it into profit

Space and its applications clearly support the empowerment of women and girls and I am proud to have been one voice of many to contribute to this week's dialogue. Women disproportionately experience poverty or suffer during natural disasters. Both satellite communications and earth observation data enable better understanding and connectivity to the needs of the affected. Aiding the security of populations and bringing opportunities to start and grow small businesses, space-based technologies empower women to take a skill and turn it into profit.

Tele-education via satellite similarly supports learning opportunities for girls in rural areas. As the Malala Fund clearly states:

Girls' education strengthens economies and creates jobs;

Educated girls are healthier citizens who raise healthier families;

Communities are more stable — and can recover faster after conflict — when girls are educated; and

Investing in girls’ education is good for our planet.

Making satellite broadband options accessible and affordable to regions that are devoid of connectivity will give these populations, including girls eager to learn, the opportunity to benefit from expertise and education otherwise not available locally.

Attracting an abundance of talent regardless of gender is a key to unlocking innovation

Women also continue to be underrepresented in the space sector, one of the most vibrant and exciting segments in STEM (Science, technology, engineering, and math). Engineering, a profession that the space and satellite industry relies upon, comprises of less than 15% women with around 20% of females awarded engineering degrees. With so many technical challenges to pursue in space and solutions that have yet to be discovered, attracting an abundance of talent regardless of gender is a key to unlocking innovation. Space tends to be an attractive driver for enthusiastic young engineers and scientists. Cubesat programs like those supported by MEDO (Meta Economic Development Organization) have inspired and helped set female engineers-in-training on a path toward the space field.

You can't be what you can't see

One of several points brought up during the course of the UN expert meeting on Space for Women, was that you can't be what you can't see - i.e. girls and women need role models in the space field to help visualize a potential path for themselves. Being in the satellite industry, I know and benefit from advice of women in leadership positions on a daily basis. What about those looking to enter this field? Who do they reach out to? Knowing is half the battle. That is why I applaud the efforts of the Brooke Owens Fellowship - an internship and mentorship program for talented undergraduate level women looking to enter the space community. This and many other programs supported by the space industry signal a concerted effort to benefit from the creativity and innovation of the full population and talent pool.

UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed stated it perfectly, "Let's make space work for the empowerment of women." So, take a look around your engineering office or classroom, at your board meeting, at the panel during a scientific or space conference as well as in the crowd, and ask yourself: "Is there more space for women?"



