The gender gap in professional space has a fundamental bearing on whether or not a company will thrive. Where skilled women count sums up to one-half of the world’s talent, it is quintessential to acknowledge their role in growth, competitiveness, and future-readiness of organizations. The females have always been instrumental in technology development, yet the National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT)’s report depicts that the number of women in computing space has steadily declined since 1991 when it peaked at 36%. Specifically, with the growth of data-centric roles, industries are developing a variety of job opportunities but it seems like the situation is not the same with women. Analytics Insight’s study found that only 30% of women are actively working in Data Science and other data-oriented jobs. Also, around 10% of data teams do not have any female members in them.

NCWIT is pleased to announce winners and honorable mentions of the 2020 NCWIT Collegiate Award, celebrating undergraduate and graduate students who self-identify as women, genderqueer, or non-binary from academic institutions nationwide. Conferred annually, the NCWIT Collegiate Award recognizes technical contributions to projects that demonstrate a high level of innovation and potential impact. View a complete list of the 2020 recipients.

Elsevier's third gender report, The researcher journey through the gender lens: A global examination of research participation, career progression and perceptions, indicates that research is making progress towards gender equity even as there is still work to be done. The report includes interviews with leading women in research and innovation. Here, three of them share their thoughts on the future of gender diversity and equity in research globally and which organizational and cultural issues will influence change most significantly.

Inspired by the re-telling of her sorority sister's engineering success in the now classic film ''Hidden Figures'', a Virginia woman named Gladys West is coming forward with her hidden history and involvement in created a technology most of us use everyday - GPS. As it turns out, like her sorority sister, West is also an important forgotten figure of technological advancement in the U.S. before and during the Civil Rights movement. This time, its West’s work on the modern day GPS system during her 42-year career at the Navy base in Dahlgren where her work was essential to her team which developed the Global Positioning System in the 1950s and 1960s.

2020 is a crucial year for science. Every day, we unlock new evidence that reshapes how we think about humanity, our world, and the universe itself. At the same time, we face new global challenges - including public health crises, plastic pollution, and the increasingly alarming reality of climate change - that will shape our future prospects as a society. We need strong voices like yours to ensure that the message of science and empirical evidence stands out from the crowd. You can seize the moment and become a AAAS member. When you do, you help AAAS: to collaborate with dozens of scientific societies to urge Congress to reject policies that disregard science, secure funding for critical research projects that benefit our society, inspire the next generation by placing retired scientists in K-12 classrooms across the nation and push for STEM education for all, especially in underserved communities.

Thousands of chemists and other scientists will travel from around the world to attend the ACS spring and fall national meetings. Among them will be C&EN's team of science reporters, who will be on the lookout for the best new science and other news you don't want to miss. When you subscribe, C&EN's team will bring you a daily email digest for each day of the conference. Think of this as your guide covering the emerging science at the ACS National Meeting & Exposition. The newsletter is designed to help you follow the meeting, whether you're there in person, or following from afar. Get started by filling out the form, and you'll start receiving updates the first day of the national meeting you subscribed to.

The European Radon Week 2020 will combine three workshops and is addressed to national authorities, the scientific radon community, industry and all other experts interested in radon. The European Radon Week will give an overview of the work and research done in Europe, especially in the field of harmonisation of radon measurement methods, radon priority areas, mapping and communicating radon data. Invited experts will present results and experiences, but much time will be reserved for discussions.

Women and female students winners demonstrate innovations in the IT field - Every area of life today involves technology demanding a skilled, educated population to work in the industry. The Las Vegas affiliate of NCWIT (National Center for Women & Information Technology) proudly presents the Techie, Aspirations, and Inspirations awards to honor these women and girls, which will be held at Zappos, 400 Stewart Ave., in downtown Las Vegas, on April 25. The Las Vegas Techie Awards honors influential professionals and organizations, combining diversity and action along with meaningful dialogue. The Aspiration Awards honors and acknowledges girls and young women in middle school and high school aspiring for careers in computing and technology. In addition to the Aspirations Awards, the Las Vegas affiliate of NCWIT is the first affiliate to offer the Inspirations Awards, which recognizes, encourages, and supports girls in middle schools to consider pursuing careers in STEM and technology careers. The number of women increasing in the tech industry continues to rise with programs such as NCWIT.

Vera Rubin, legendary astronomer who was perennially overlooked for the Nobel prize, has become the first woman to have an American observatory named in her honor! ''Named after an astronomer who provided important evidence of the existence of dark matter,'' wrote France Córdova, National Science Foundation (NSF)'s outgoing director, ''the NSF Vera C. Rubin Observatory seems destined to make science history with its extraordinary capabilities that will come to bear in the next few years.''

In the past, Wall Street and finance used to be an all-white ''good ole boys club'' akin to Mad Men. This has changed in recent years and great progress has been made. Despite this progress, we still have a lot more work to do to achieve in terms of parity. According to a recent report, less than 17 percent of senior positions in investment banks are held by women. Authority Magazine recently ran a series called ''Meet The Female Leaders Of Finance.'' In the series we asked dozens of prominent women leaders in finance about the improvements in gender bias, so far, and what can be done to sustain this progress. Here are 10 highlights from the series.