Women in STEAM – Inspiring the Next Generation

Roundtable discussion in association with Creative Lancashire and the Lancashire Digital Skills Partnership

“I have been a female engineer for nearly 30 years and the numbers are not much better than they were when I started. We need a game changer.” Helen Heggie (Director, STEMFirst)

• What are the issues and barriers to raising the levels of women in STEAM?
• What are the stereotypes vs the reality of STEAM jobs, and how do we get this reality across?
• Who do we need to inspire to help raise the numbers of women?
• How do we encourage interest in STEAM subjects for young girls from an earlier age?

Now more than ever there is a need for science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM), concepts to integrate with the arts (STEAM), across curriculum and in industry. Women are frequently at the forefront of this global movement of change, yet their representation is still limited.

According to a recent UNESCO study, globally women hold less than 30% of jobs in STEAM, which encompasses the fastest-growing and highest-paying professional fields, particularly in low-and-middle income economies.

However, in the UK, only 9% of the STEM workforce comprise of women, a shocking lag. STEM and STEAM skills form part of everything we make and do, and yet the data which informs design and decision making is predominantly focused on one branch of society, instead of accurately considering the needs of a more diverse society.

STEM skills are creative in nature because they involve problem solving and design thinking. In education though, the creative dimension of Science and Technology is being lost because of widening gaps in curriculum. This impacts young girls even more, as they are being introduced to STEAM too late.

This session invites perspectives on these questions from women working in STEAM and related industries.

Contributors include:

• Daksha Patel (2019 AIM Artist)
• Gemma Latham (Transformation North West)
• Helen Heggie (STEMFirst)
• Kerry Harrison (LEP Skills Hub)
• Liz Hardwick (DigiEnable)
• Miranda Web (DXC Chorley)
• Louise Gardner (Darwen Terracotta)
• Lucy Kennedy (National Saturday Club)
• Philippa Glover (Event Host, CNC Robotics)
• Sandra Dartnell (Creative & Cultural Skills)

This event is FREE to attend. Only a limited number of audience contributor places are available on the day - please book your place in advance.

The Lancashire Digital Skills Partnership (LDSP) is a collective of public, private and charity sector organisations that work together to address the digital skills needs of the County. The LDSP aims to ensure that Lancashire becomes a digital skills hotspot with high levels of digital inclusion, successful businesses and increased productivity across all sectors, and a plentiful pipeline of digital skills leaving our schools, colleges and universities. digitalskillspartnership.blog.gov.uk

Image credit: Daniel Allison