Job prospects within the STEM sector are driving the Scottish economy – let’s not repeat the mistakes of the past
Technology strikes fear into the hearts of many, and is successfully avoided by very few. More recently, the acronym ‘STEM’ which encompasses the wider family of Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths fields has gained popularity. It’s a big theme across Scottish schools, colleges and government priorities. Scotland has a rich heritage in STEM, innovation and inventiveness. Everyone knows that their favourite device, the phone, was invented here and it’s one on a long list of gifts this great country has given the world.
The normal lists of famous Scottish inventors, though long, show only one side of what has come before. The ‘history’ is missing the ‘herstory’; many notable Scottish women inventors are unheard of despite their monumental contributions. Ayr’s Marion Gray made contributions to mathematics that are still used today by telecoms giants. Dundee’s Williamina Fleming discovered hundreds of stars. The first woman to gain a PhD from the University of Munich was Aberdeenshire’s very own geologist Maria Gordon. Ever heard of them? This phenomenon is not confined only to times past.
The current President of the Royal Society of Edinburgh is Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell. She discovered the first radio pulsars back in the 1970s but the 1974 Nobel Prize for Physics for radio pulsars went to someone else.
It will be to our collective detriment to forget these women, given the importance of their achievements. Now more than ever, technology and STEM have gone mainstream. Government services are being digitalised, life is played out on Facebook and the next generation are inseparable from their phones. Job prospects within the STEM sector are at a high and are driving the Scottish economy via a series of new ‘tech hubs’. The opportunity to tell ‘herstory’ is huge. Let’s not repeat the mistakes of the past.
EquatE Scotland has said that Scotland needs 140,000 more engineers by 2020. We’re nowhere near meeting that demand, judging from current participation in training and education. There’s an industry wide skills shortage. In 2016 only 5% of engineering modern apprenticeships in Scotland were taken up by women and only 18% of those in digital technology jobs in Scotland are women. We’ll only have a chance of meeting demand if we have all genders participating.
For our own sake, we need many hands-on deck in the Scottish STEM industry. Given our history in inven- tiveness, innovation and STEM, and the payoff we’ve had from the women participants, we need to make sure that we invest in future Marion Grays, Williamina Flemings and Maria Gordons. We need to invest in our girls and young women, our ‘#LassiesinSTEM’.
Stemettes is an award-winning social enterprise that has worked with nearly 15,000 young women across the UK and Ireland over the last four years. Our ‘free, fun, food’ ethos hosts girls-only spaces for them to be inspired, supported and encouraged into STEM. Last weekend, we teamed up with tech company Methods Digital to host girls from Paisley, as young as 6 years old, at a coding event at the University of West of Scotland. Lots of free food and hours of creative fun later, they presented projects on the theme of ‘Fake News’ to industry professionals.
After the event, 93% said their confidence in their own STEM abilities had increased – 100% would like to
do more coding in the future. All attendees rated the experience 10 out of 10. Winners included 7-year-old Isabel from Dalkeith who created an interactive fake evidence news story about the Moon being made from cheesy puffs and 13-year-old Brooke from Glasgow who created a very realistic Fake News site featuring controversial Trump headlines.
Our previous work across Scotland has seen Aberdeen schoolgirls spend a day at engineering company Centrica, hundreds of young women attend impactful events in Edinburgh and Glasgow with our partners Accenture, and thousands of young people having their perceptions changed watching our new documentary ‘Eat. Sleep. STEM. Repeat.’ at school screenings throughout March and April. We’re working hard on changing the social norms not only for young women but their entire generation.
We’re introducing these young women to a diverse set of role models, so that we can counteract the lack of technical women they may have seen in media and in real life. What we’ve learnt over the years is that despite low participation, many young women are technical role models themselves. For example, Ellora James from Wick is featured in our documentary and took part in our STEM Entrepreneurship programme Outbox Incubator back in 2015. A tech entrepreneur and co-founder of Envirocache, just a few weeks ago she was named as ‘The One to Watch’ at the 2017 Everywoman in Technology awards. She is a shining example of what the future of Scotland looks like and is one of a growing number of future Scottish STEM leaders.
All hands-on deck for these #LassiesinSTEM. The long-established practices of role modelling and grassroots activity need to be boosted by proper media representation (a technical woman in River City or Eastenders perhaps?) and effort from all genders. Men are part of the solution. We’re all bound to ensure that girls and women are uninhibited by social norms or prejudice in their scientific and technological pursuit. Here’s to the future, well-documented, well-celebrated Marion Grays, Williamina Flemings and Maria Gordons. Here’s to the future of Scotland.
Anne-Marie Imafidon MBE is the co-founder of Stemettes
www.stemettes.org
Methods Digital is a technology consultancy which advises the UK Government on how to digitise its services and deliver a better experience for citizens. It also designs and prototypes new government services, as well as delivering live applications like cloud CRM systems or open platform websites. Its clients include Ofcom, Innovate UK, the Scottish Government, the Office for National Statistics, Companies House.
methodsdigital.co.uk
Don’t miss the next EduTech Conference from FutureScot, devoted to STEM – at Strathclyde University’s Technology and Innovation Centre on 25 May. bit.ly/2nPD084
Related posts
Interviews
Comment
Why innovation and marketing are the perfect partners to make changes that matter
With the rapid evolution of traditional marketing and the appearance of digital marketing, technology and innovation has become part of any marketer’s life without the need of working for a…
Transitioning to a four-day week – CEO’s vow to strike a healthier balance in the workplace
I came to Scotland nearly 20 years ago from Ireland, with no contacts but a lot of determination. While Ireland will always be my home, Scotland has given me amazing…
Women Lead: The female-led company championing intuitive working
Over the last two years, the pandemic forced a shift to more remote and flexible working practices. Whilst we might be seeing a “return to normal”, some companies are choosing…
Women Lead: My passion for young people to consider a career in digital
Twenty years ago, I stumbled across my career in digital marketing almost by accident. It was during my honours degree in marketing at Glasgow Caledonian University. I was on work…
Women Lead: Inclusive Silicon Valley cohort gives hope to entrepreneurs from diverse backgrounds
Things are happening on the Scottish tech scene. Big and small initiatives are creating a fantastic ripple effect on the sector, bottom up and top down, thanks to the recommendations…
Women Lead: The story of an entrepreneurial scientist
I first arrived in Scotland over 20 years ago. I had £75 in my wallet and a scholarship offer to do a PhD at the University of Edinburgh. Sometimes I…
Please mind the gap… or healthcare may fall
Imagine sharing a lengthy train journey with others. From beginning to end, imagine how often you might hear ‘mind the gap’ messages about embarking and disembarking safely. Picture how navigating…
Women Lead: My journey from Dragons’ Den to Silicon Valley
Following her appearance on Dragons’ Den, Sheila Hogan, serial entrepreneur, founder and chief executive of digital legacy vault, Biscuit Tin, shares her experience of her time in the Den and…