There’s a lack of women studying STEM subjects

There simply are not women studying Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths. Part of the reason there are so few women in tech is down to this.

It’s not just the tech industry there is a shortage of women in, it’s also other industries where these STEM subjects would be put into practice.

Being stereotyped is an issue in all these industries.

The more females we have studying these subjects the more likely they are to continue on in a career using these skills. The majority of students who choose STEM subjects are male.

With Science and Maths being subjects you have to take for GCSE’s the figures are fairly even for that age bracket between girls and boys.

Wise states that only 13.3% of students studying Computing in 2019 at A-Level are female although this is a slight increase on previous years.

According to STEM Women only 35% of women in higher education in the UK are female. Women only made up 25% of graduates studying the core STEM subjects in 2015 and that only increased to 26% by 2018.

Breaking that down in 2018…. Only 42% of graduates in Physical Science, 39% in Mathematical Science and 15% in both Computer Science and Engineering and Technology were female.

This shows there’s a lack of women studying STEM subjects.

How do we change this?

A lot of this goes back to my previous blog about being conditioned from a young age.

We need to break down stereotypes.

Parents need to encourage their children.

Teachers need to encourage and believe in their students.

Girls need to have positive STEM mentors and role models.

We need to build girls confidence.

My personal experience with STEM subjects

I’m a woman who didn’t choose to do any STEM subjects in further education.

From Primary school age, year after year my teachers would always tell my parents I lacked confidence in my own abilities, even the subjects I was strong in I never believed I was. Girls naturally have less belief in themselves and this gender modesty is an age-old cultural issue. (Check out the Google initiative ‘I am remarkable’ for great insight into this https://iamremarkable.withgoogle.com/ )

Going into my GCSE years….

I was TERRIBLE at Science; I really struggled so it’s not a surprise I didn’t want to continue on that path.  Being ‘terrible’ got me a C, but if I had been more aware of the possibilities, I may have tried harder and gotten better.

Out of all the subjects I chose, I obtained my highest grade, an A, in…………..IT!

So why didn’t I explore Tech after school? It didn’t even cross my mind.

I can’t remember anyone ever encouraging me to choose a Technology path, even though that was where I was most successful at school.

Nobody came into school to discuss Tech or the potential career opportunities within the sector.

What could have made me pursue Technology as a career path?

Maybe if I had been encouraged by my teacher?  If the gender ratio had been more balanced in STEM?  How about if I’d have seen some positive stories from successful women in tech? What if someone successful in the industry had come to speak to us at school?

What’s your story?

I’d love to hear your experience with STEM subjects whether that be you didn’t choose any STEM subjects in further education like me or you did choose a STEM subject and if that’s the case did you pursue a career in it?

Let me know your story!

Stay tuned for instalment 3 where I will look at the obstacles women face in their careers when starting a family.