Women in science 

Sharing experiences and views on supporting women in science and in global health

EPISODE #2

26 May 2021

GUESTS:

Roopa Dhatt, Executive Director of Women in Global Health

Rose Leke, Founder of HIGHER Women Consortium Cameroon

Soumya Swaminathan, Chief Scientist at the World Health Organization

About this episode

In science, globally, women account for only about 30% of researchers, according to UNESCO, and evidence shows that their participation is even lower at leadership and decision-making levels. Why is that, and what is being done to better support women’s careers in science?

Join Dr Garry Aslanyan and his expert panel of guests as they share their inspiring journeys as women leaders in global health. They also discuss the root causes of gender inequality in science and some strategies they have developed to address them.   

Biographies of our host and guests

Soumya Swaminathan

Chief Scientist, World Health Organization

Biography

Dr Soumya Swaminathan is Chief Scientist at the World Health Organization (WHO). She previous served as WHO's Deputy Director-General for Programmes. A paediatrician from India and a globally recognized researcher on tuberculosis and HIV, she brings with her 30 years of experience in clinical care and research and has worked throughout her career to translate research into impactful programmes. Dr Swaminathan was Secretary to the Government of India for Health Research and Director General of the Indian Council of Medical Research from 2015 to 2017. In that position, she focused on bringing science and evidence into health policy making, building research capacity in Indian medical schools and forging south-south partnerships in health sciences. From 2009 to 2011, she also served as Coordinator of the UNICEF/UNDP/World Bank/WHO Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases in Geneva.

She received her academic training in India, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and the United States of America, and has published more than 350 peer-reviewed publications and book chapters. She is an elected Foreign Fellow of the US National Academy of Medicine and a Fellow of all three science academies in India. She has previously been on several WHO and global advisory bodies and committees, including the WHO Expert Panel to Review Global Strategy and Plan of Action on Public Health, Innovation and Intellectual Property, the Strategic and Technical Advisory Group of the Global TB Department at WHO, and most recently was Co-Chair of the Lancet Commission on TB.

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