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Central to the achievement of the transformational vision and ambitions of the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (Ocean Decade) is human behavioral change. Fundamentally, these changes must embrace equality, diversity, inclusivity, accountability, and transparency. The Ocean Decade offers an unprecedented opportunity to fast-track gender equality and the empowerment of women in ocean science at all levels, and to achieve it by 2030. This means embedding gender equality as a cross-cutting principle in the planning, implementation, and application of ocean science. The Programme on Empowering Women for the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development directly addresses current gender inequality in both the production and use of ocean science knowledge in the Ocean Decade, with a particular focus on ocean governance systems that conduct, coordinate, and apply ocean science. The Programme aims to collect baseline data on gender balance, investigate barriers and challenges women face in career progression, and identify good practices to enhance women’s participation in ocean science at all levels. Ultimately the research seeks to provide solutions to overcome such challenges and catalyze actions to achieve gender equality that will drive the Ocean Decade toward its goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]