Science academies are well placed to contribute towards strengthening of national systems of innovation through advocating for an increased participation of girls and women in science. To successfully do so, academies would need to overcome challenges faced with regard to women’s representation in their own ranks and women’s resultant full participation in the activities of national science academies. We collected baseline data on the representation of women scientists in the membership and governance structures of national science academies that are affiliated with IAP: the Global Network of Science Academies. Women academy members remained far below parity with men, given that women’s membership was typically about 12%. Women members were better represented in the social sciences, humanities and arts but the corresponding shares rarely exceeded 20%. In the natural sciences and engineering, women’s membership remained well below 10%. On average, the largest share of women members (17%) was associated with academies in Latin America and the Caribbean. The average share of women serving on governing bodies was 20%. To change this unsettling narrative, the importance of academies of science annually collecting, analysing and reporting gender-disaggregated data on membership and activities is highlighted as a key recommendation. Several aspects of women’s representation and participation in national science academies are highlighted for further investigation.

South is a significant contribution to the history of science in the developing world, and a celebration of scientific capacity and excellence achievements that can be attributed to the gap filled by The World Academy of Science (TWAS). TWAS was established in 1983 as the 'Third World Academy of Science', later known as 'TWAS: the Academy of Sciences for the Developing World', and now 'The World Academy of Science'. These name changes can be seen, literally, as TWAS' response to a changing science world, and, figuratively, as signifying the leaps and bounds that science in the South has experienced-changes to which TWAS' existence has contributed.