Every year, on February 11, the International Day of Women and Girls in Science is celebrated, a day that honors the exceptional contributions of women to research, innovation, and the development of society, while also reminding us of the importance of creating equal opportunities for all. This date was established by the United Nations in 2015 with a clear message: science and gender equality must advance together in order for the world to respond to the complex challenges of today.
This year’s theme, “From Vision to Impact: Redefining STEM by Closing the Gender Gap,” emphasizes the need to move from conversations about equality to concrete actions, especially in the fields of new and advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence and high-performance computing (HPC).
Where are women today in the HPC world?
Supercomputing today represents one of the most important technologies driving modern science and industry. HPC is used in the development of new medicines, climate change simulations, genetic research, the development of artificial intelligence, and many other fields that shape our future. However, in this key area there is still a significant gender gap. Data show that women make up less than 20% of leadership positions in supercomputing, while only about 10% of authors of scientific publications in this field are women. In related academic disciplines, such as computer science and engineering, women account for only about 21–22% of graduates, which directly affects the number of female experts who later enter the HPC sector. In some European HPC centers, this percentage is even lower, in certain cases between 9% and 13% of experts are women. This trend is often described as a “leaky pipeline,” where the number of women decreases as careers progress, especially at the transition to higher professional and leadership positions.
The reasons for this are multiple, ranging from a lack of specialized training and mentoring support to work environments in which women often have fewer opportunities for development and advancement. Research shows that a large number of women leave technology professions mid-career, often due to a lack of work-life balance or limited opportunities for professional growth.
Nevertheless, experience from our community shows that interest exists and that it is strong. Through the open call organized by NCC HPC Bosnia and Herzegovina, that is, the Verlab Institute, in cooperation with UNESCO for the use of HPC infrastructure, intended for researchers from the Balkans, Africa, and Ukraine, as many as 80% of applicants were women, while 20% were men. This data clearly shows that women recognize the potential of supercomputing and want to actively participate in its development when given the opportunity and access to resources. For us, this was not only a statistical result, but confirmation that there is a new generation of female researchers who want to use supercomputers to solve real problems, from medical research to climate and social challenges.
The role of the community and initiatives that drive change
At the global level, organizations such as Women in HPC actively work to increase the visibility of women in supercomputing through mentoring, education, and networking. UNESCO, which places gender equality as one of its key priorities, continuously emphasizes that women make up less than one third of researchers worldwide and calls for greater inclusion of women in science and technology.
In this context, initiatives that enable access to knowledge, infrastructure, and international collaboration play a key role. NCC HPC Bosnia and Herzegovina, through the activities of the Verlab Institute, strives precisely for that, to open doors to researchers, strengthen capacities, and ensure that advanced technologies become accessible to everyone who wants to use them.
On this day, we do not only celebrate the achievements of women in science, we celebrate their curiosity, courage, and perseverance. We celebrate female researchers who develop new therapies, programmers who shape the algorithms of the future, and scientists who use supercomputers to push the boundaries of what is possible.
The fact that women made up the large majority of applications to our HPC call shows that interest exists, that the energy exists, and that change is already beginning. It is up to us to continue building an environment that will transform that interest into long-term careers, leadership, and new generations of innovators.
Adna Softić
