In the News
International Day of Women and Girls in Science
February 11th is International Day of Women and Girls in Science.
Established by the UN in 2016, the day aims to encourage more girls and women to take up jobs in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) and to promote full and equal access to them.
According to recent data, women make up just 24% of the UK workforce in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) careers.1
Sadly data also shows the gender gap is present when it comes to those studying STEM subjects too. Only 35% of STEM students in higher education in the UK are women. Furthermore, of those taking Engineering and Technology courses only 19% are women.2
The question of why there are less women studying STEM subjects and working in STEM careers is complicated. Reasons such as exposure to certain types of toys from an early age could be a contributing factor. Any girls brought up around the ‘girls play with dolls’ and ‘boys play with construction sets’ mentality may have had a seed planted early on. Another reason could be that while girls do as well as boys in science subjects at school, they also tend to do better in other subjects and therefore have a wider choice when it comes to deciding what to study and what path to take. Perhaps the idea of being outnumbered by men in the workplace could put some women off.
We believe in the importance of addressing the gender gap in these industries and continue to work on the diversity of the Eadon team. Join us in helping to make some noise about this issue using the hashtag #WomenInScience