Big changes needed to STEM tide for women

Getting girls into science, technology, engineering and maths careers won’t happen without change.

Inca Pearce

Getting girls into science, technology, engineering and maths careers won’t happen without change.

World Economic Forum research into effects of technology in the US found that more than 57 per cent of jobs held by women will be disrupted by 2026. Given the role technology plays in the global workplace, we clearly need to work harder to encourage females to take up STEM careers. But our track record in these areas is poor.

Girls in primary school achieve roughly the same results as boys of the same age in maths and science. But an OECD report on gender equality in 2015 found fewer than one in 20 girls consider STEM careers. We need to make STEM fields more attractive by demonstrating the broad range of careers available in these areas including viticulture, agri-science, robotics and nanotechnology.

We also must find and actively publicise more female role models, which can be hard when only one in 10 engineers is a woman. Ultimately, it’s the structure of many male-dominated workplaces and industries that unconsciously dissuade women from applying (or staying in) a science-based career. Women need to be able to work in equitable environments where they are not disadvantaged by parental or caring responsibilities, or discriminatory hiring and promotion. And they need to be supported in their growth and development at all stages of their career by employers who see the bigger picture of what women bring to the table.

Few workplaces really examine how their culture may contribute to women dropping out. A Harvard Business Review study, Reversing the Brain Drain in Science Technology and Engineering, found more than 40 per cent of highly qualified scientists, engineers and technologists on the lower ranks of their career ladder are female, yet 54 per cent leave by their mid to late 30s. We should be worried. Gender diversity is crucial to solving the complex problems faced by those working in STEM-related areas.

It’s well documented that gender-balanced teams perform better and encourage more collaborative environments.

This leads to better business outcomes — and better products. According to McKinsey & Company’s Diversity Matters report (2015), companies in the top quartile for gender diversity are 15 per cent likelier to have financial returns above their national industry medians.

Flexible work options, including job sharing, part-time work and attractive parental leave and return-to-work policies, must be a priority, as should auditing hiring and promotion practices for gender bias. The so-called fourth industrial revolution is going to be one big headache for all of us unless we come to grips with some of the real issues surrounding the job market.

Addressing gender balance and building more inclusive workplace cultures is key. We need to encourage girls to STEM careers but, more important, we need them to stay and advance to leadership levels. That’s not going to happen without major change.

Inca Pearce is a member of the Chiefs for Gender Equity Group, a viticulturist and chief executive of biosecurity organisation Vinehealth Australia.