Princess Anne is concerned the coronavirus pandemic has created a "backwards slide" for women in the workplace.
The Princess Royal insisted it is "essential" to celebrate the "impressive" females working in core science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) roles, and thinks more needs to be done to encourage women into the professions.
Anne - who has been patron of Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) since 2000 - said: “Such upheavals can lead to a backwards slide, with organisations focused on keeping their businesses afloat rather than the equally important but perhaps less pressing work of maintaining a diverse and inclusive workforce.”
She noted that 24 per cent of STEM employees are female, a figure which has doubled in the last two decades, but insisted it is one that is "still much lower than we would like".
She said: “Maintaining this push is even more important in the wake of the pandemic...
“We therefore need to double our efforts around raising the profile of impressive women in STEM and ensure that diversity and inclusion remains high on the agenda for businesses across all STEM sectors.
“It should also be remembered that this work helps keep organisations innovative and competitive - another key reason for continuing to strive for gender balance across the sector.”
Anne was speaking at the WISE Covid Unsung Heroes awards at Windsor Castle, which recognised the achievements of six women whose work helped improve communities and lives during the pandemic but had received little recognition.
The 71-year-old royal praised the winners - which included Dr. Amy Thomas, who designed a saliva test to swab children, and Susan McDonald, who worked to ensure at home COVID-19 testing was available to all, including blind people and those who were shielding - for producing "incredible work in the face of adversity".
