Voices of science: the global impact of OWSD, an interview with Giulia Pizzolini and Giulia Signori

Preface: In this interview we speak with Giulia Pizzolini and Giulia Signori of the Organization for Women in Science in the Developing World (OWSD). Here they share the origins of this UNESCO programme and how it has supported women in science and leadership over the past few decades.

Could you briefly introduce OWSD and its mission? When was the organization founded, and why?

The Organization for Women in Science for the Developing World (OWSD) is a Programme of UNESCO, hosted by TWAS in Trieste (Italy) and operating since 1987 as a global membership-based organization.

Its mission is to ensure that women scientists are not only included in research systems, but increasingly positioned as key drivers of innovation, sustainable development, and knowledge production. OWSD functions as a multilevel platform for capacity-building, evidence generation, and international collaboration, bridging grassroots scientific communities with global policy frameworks.

What are the main challenges OWSD aims to address for women scientists in developing countries?

OWSD focuses on tackling persistent structural barriers faced by women scientists in developing countries, including:

• Limited access to education, research funding, and career opportunities.
• Underrepresentation in leadership and decision-making roles.
• Weak institutional support for women in STEM.
• Gender biases within scientific systems.
• Isolation from global scientific networks.
• Breakdown of scientific careers due to forced displacement.

These challenges reduce both individual career progression and the overall scientific capacity of countries in the Global South.

How does OWSD define its role in strengthening scientific capacity and leadership among women researchers?

OWSD defines its role as both an enabler and a catalyst: it strengthens scientific capacity not only by supporting individual women researchers, but by ensuring that their knowledge, leadership, and influence extend into institutions and wider systems.

Its approach is deliberately designed to create effects that accumulate and spread over time, generating impact well beyond the initial point of intervention.

OWSD’s impact operates at three mutually reinforcing levels:

• At the systems level, OWSD contributes to shaping the broader conditions that enable or constrain women in science. The GenSIS programme – developed jointly with UNESCO – is piloting national gender and innovation dialogues in at least 12 countries, generating new evidence and engaging stakeholders toward durable policy mechanisms, including through the creation of Gender in Science (GiS) committees that bridge science, policy and institutions The WISDOM programme is putting the nexus gender- science- forced displacement on the agenda for policy recommendations. OWSD’s near-global presence enables both comparative analysis and region-specific insight that few organisations can replicate.

• At the individual level, thousands of women scientists have received scholarships, fellowships, leadership training, and peer support through National Chapter networks. Crucially, OWSD sees individual support as the starting point of a wider process: alumnae go on to lead laboratories, supervise doctoral students, and serve as national experts, multiplying the return on each investment.

• At the institutional level, OWSD acts as a bridge between individual advancement and structural change. Early Career Fellows have established new laboratories and upgraded research facilities in institutions in the Global South. The 59 National Chapters function as active platforms for training, outreach, and policy engagement, not passive membership structures.

What role does international collaboration play in OWSD’s programs and mission?

International collaboration is central to OWSD’s work. The organization:

• Connects a network of nearly 12,000 women scientists across 173 countries.
• Operates 59 National Chapters as local hubs for collaboration.
• Facilitates South–South partnerships.
• Bridges local scientific communities with global policy frameworks.

This collaborative approach enhances knowledge exchange, joint research, and global visibility of women scientists. At the same time, OWSD’s institutional positioning significantly amplifies the value of these collaborations. As a programme of UNESCO and hosted by The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS), OWSD benefits from a high level of international credibility and convening power.

This positioning allows OWSD to operate at the intersection of science, policy, and diplomacy. For many members and National Chapters, this role is critical. It provides trusted entry points into international networks, funding opportunities, and policy dialogues that may otherwise be difficult to access. Through OWSD, women scientists are not only connected to each other, but also to global platforms where their expertise can inform decision-making and shape agendas.

Could you tell us more about the funding and fellowship programs OWSD has run in the past, and who they were designed to support?

OWSD has implemented a wide range of programs designed to support women scientists at different career stages:

• PhD Fellowships: for women from the Global South to pursue doctoral studies in partner institutes in the Global South.
• Early Career Fellowships: supporting women with a PhD to establish research centers in their home countries.
• OWSD- Elsevier Foundation Awards: recognizing outstanding scientific achievements of early career women scientists.
• WISDOM programme supporting displaced female students and scientists with Master’s scholarships and support to research and advocacy on the link science- gender and forced displacement.
• Initiatives to develop data- driven insights on gender equality in science, including large-scale surveys, national policy dialogues, and innovation ecosystem analysis (GenSIS programme with UNESCO).

These programs are designed to build scientific expertise while preventing brain drain, encouraging women to contribute to the development of Global South research and academic ecosystems.

How does OWSD support fellows beyond financial funding, for example, through mentorship, networks, training, or other forms of visibility?

OWSD provides comprehensive support beyond financial assistance, including:

• Mentorship and peer networks through National Chapters.
• Leadership and professional development training.
• International visibility and recognition through awards and events.
• Access to global scientific networks.
• Policy engagement opportunities.

This ecosystem ensures that fellows are supported holistically throughout their careers.

What outcomes have you seen from supporting women scientists through your programs?

The outcomes of OWSD’s work are significant and measurable. OWSD’s activities across the Global South include:

• Strong multiplier effects, with alumnae becoming mentors and leaders in their countries.
• 576 PhD fellowships awarded (437 completed since 1998).
• 124 Early Career Fellowships awarded.
• 69 OWSD- Elsevier Foundation Awardees since 2013.
• 44 Refugee Masters Scholars supported since 2024 in Turkiye, Jordan and Uganda; 7 research grants completed and one on-going.
• GenSIS Programme launched with UNESCO (2024–2026): 3 national pilots (Bolivia, Rwanda, Zimbabwe) and 4,085 validated survey responses informing policy dialogues. 4 other national pilots are about to start (in Cameroon, Egypt, Guatemala and Sri Lanka).
• 59 National Chapters active across the Global South Nearly 12,000 members (all women scientists with at least a master’s degree in the Global South) and 410 Friends across 173 countries – 89% of all countries worldwide, a 15% increase from the previous year.
• Thousands of women scientists supported globally.
• Fellows establishing laboratories, supervising students, and leading research teams.
• Strong multiplier effects, with alumnae becoming mentors and leaders in their countries.

How do you measure or understand the long-term impact of your funding and fellowship support?

OWSD measures its impact through:

• Regular reporting and monitoring of National Chapters’ activities and PhD and Early Career fellowships implementations, including
• Data-driven initiatives like the GenSIS programme, which collects large-scale evidence on gender in science.

This approach links individual support to broader scientific and societal impact. In addition, the long funding cycles that characterise many OWSD programmes allow for sustained monitoring and evaluation over time.

This has made it possible to generate valuable lessons on how to effectively engage, represent, and retain women in science. These insights are systematically fed back into the design of future programmes, as well as into policy discussions and institutional practices.

What are OWSD’s future priorities for expanding and strengthening support for women in science?

OWSD’s future priorities include:

• Advancing a new model for fellowships and funding opportunities, based on partnerships with existing actors active in providing fellowships in which OWSD acts as a gender advisor to existing fellowship schemes—helping partners design and implement programmes that effectively meet gender equality targets.
• Positioning OWSD as a strategic advisor in scientific environments and programmes, including large-scale research consortia, to ensure that gender considerations are meaningfully integrated into the design, implementation, and evaluation of funded scientific projects.
• Strengthening National Chapters and regional networks, including adopting a Hub- based model where activities are implemented and overseen in a decentralized way at the regional level.
• Increasing policy engagement and evidence-based advocacy.
• Supporting innovation ecosystems and gender-responsive research systems.
• Scaling partnerships and engagements with governments, donors, and global institutions.

The goal is to deepen impact at all levels, from individuals to national systems.

What advice would you give to women scientists considering applying for OWSD funding or fellowship opportunities in the future?

For women scientists considering OWSD opportunities:

• Be ambitious and apply—opportunities are designed to support your growth.
• Demonstrate both scientific excellence and commitment to your community (translational impact of scientific work).
• Highlight how your work contributes to development challenges.
• Engage with OWSD networks early (e.g. National Chapters).
• Take advantage of mentorship, visibility, and collaboration opportunities.

OWSD programmes are highly competitive but offer transformational career support and entry into a global scientific community.

Acknowledgments:

We would like to sincerely thank Giulia Pizzolini and Giulia Signori for taking the time to share their perspectives on OWSD with us. We deeply appreciate their and OWSD’s contributions to career and community support for women in developing countries.