Gender myths exposed in primary schools

Pimary school teachers have a critical role in challenging ideas about gender capabilities.

Primary school teachers have a critical role in challenging ideas about gender capabilities from the early years of school, says a leading education researcher.

University of Sydney postdoctoral researcher in science, technology, engineering and mathematics education, Dr Jane Hunter, says primary school teachers must challenge notions of young girls not being as intelligent as boys or saying they are not good at maths or science, so they can pursue STEM careers.

“Very young girls are arriving at school with ideas of what are feminine and masculine activities and traits, formed through exposure to potent media images and advertising,” Hunter says. “When teachers are complicit and don’t actively challenge these notions, their responses — or lack of them — play into girls’ poor self-perceptions of intelligence.”

Through her school studies, Hunter found girls from as young as five wanted to find solutions to science-related problems, especially when they involved team work and hands-on tasks such as building circuits and conducting experiments.

She said they are excited by fictional stories showing women making exciting STEM discoveries, and were attracted to STEM careers when their teachers invited scientists, software programmers and astronomers into the classroom.

Push for early start-ups

Entrepreneur Ahmed Haider is encouraging university students to start their own businesses while studying, and take a chance on learning how businesses succeed and fail.

Haider, who started Zookal in 2012 while at university, decided to embark on the start-up journey when he realised how expensive textbooks were.

His business, which rents textbooks to students for a fraction of the price of new ones, was aimed at saving people from the financial stress associated with tomes that cost hundreds of dollars each. He says Zookal has saved students more than $9 million in text book costs over the past five years through rentals.

Singapore lures expats

A HSBC report on the global expat market has found 57 per cent of people chose to move to Australia for a better quality of life, but the beach lifestyle and relaxed way of life was less popular than it was several years ago.

The Achieving Ambitions Abroad report surveyed nearly 27,000 expats in 190 countries, with Australia dropping out of the top 10 list of preferred countries for the first time, to be 11th below Singapore, New Zealand and Czech Republic.

Singapore topped the list, with career, finance and family opportunities making it a popular choice. Of the respondents, 62 per cent of expats in Singapore said the experience improved their career progression, compared with just 46 per cent of expats in Australia. The report found 20,000 Australians moved to Singapore for work last year, compared to 2000 in 2001.

Salaries stay flat

Morgan McKinley’s 2017 Australian Salary Guide found wages remained flat across traditional roles in 2016, but there had been salary growth in niche areas, including analytics, digital and innovation, as organisations bring in core capabilities to deliver growth.

The report found increased pressure from the small to medium sector and start-up community was motivating multinationals, and there was a demand for specialists who could multi-skill. Businesses also wanted to improve gender balance at leadership levels but progress has been slow.

Morgan McKinley joint managing director Louise Langridge said demand had remained strong for growth areas, such as data analysts. “Where we have seen increased spikes in salaries is in areas where demand has outstripped supply,” she says.