Marie Curie, Rosalind Franklin, and Ada Lovelace are just some of the remarkable women who paved the way for future generations of female scientists. Since then, many women have made significant contributions to scientific fields and have changed the world with their research. At BeScience STEM, we honour their legacy by being committed to advancing women’s education and career prospects in STEM. As gender disparity prevails within professions, we strive to make STEM education more accessible to young girls.
Children’s aspirations are often moulded by socio-economic background. Conceptions of traditional femininity, specifically ideas around ‘nurturing’ or ‘caring’ roles had formerly restricted girls’ aspirations to become scientists, while boys have continuously been encouraged to take on roles in traditionally male dominated sectors.
According to UCAS data from HESA, in the UK only 35% of STEM students are female. Marked imbalances occur across STEM subjects at undergraduate level, with courses like Computer Science having only 19% of female students against 81% students being male. Women graduating in core STEM subjects has fluctuated between 24-27% in the last decade – a quarter of the total.
Seemingly, gender stereotyping is still discouraging girls from taking STEM subjects at school and aspiring to STEM careers. There’s a shared perception that women are paid less and are less likely to reach positions of leadership, despite being proven to be on average 8% more productive of their male colleagues.
The UK Government census data show that women make up 26% of the STEM workforce, with gender gaps particularly high in Engineering and Technology. Similarly, in the US the representation of women in STEM remains low at just over one quarter of the overall STEM workforce, according to AAUW. Concerns about work-life balance, institutional biases and cultural barriers remain the main challenges for women in STEM.
Statistics show that at the current rate of change we would not see equal representation in STEM until the year 2070. However, numbers also show a gradual increase in the number of women working in STEM roles, which bodes well for a more inclusive future. In 2019, government data showed that there are now one million women in core STEM occupations!
Innovative pedagogical strategies including inclusive teaching approaches and mentorship programmes have the potential to boost girls’ interest in STEM. National Awards and local champaigns can highlight STEM talents and create new hands-on opportunities for girls from underrepresented backgrounds.
Join our Stepping into Stem podcast as we bring STEM adepts together to provide visible role
models and discuss ways towards closing gender gaps.
By Margherita Brignoli.
