Actura is proud to be the exclusive partner of the Alliance of Girls' Schools Australasia to design and deliver the most innovative and inspiring STEM programs to engage young women in STEM education and careers.
The Alliance of Girls’ Schools Australasia is a leading voice for the advancement of girls’ education. The Association contributes to the development and promotion of education in Australasia and the empowerment of young women to reach their potential and become influential contributors to our complex and changing world.
At Actura, we advocate the ongoing need to promote STEM education as a framework in young women in particular, as we navigate the future work landscape. It is equally as important for young women to be able to gain appropriate STEM skills and knowledge of modern technologies, as they learn to be literate in each discipline and become capable advancing in society, as it is for young men.
Our in-class and out-of-class solutions cater to both genders. Female students are still underrepresented in STEM studies and even more so in STEM careers and leadership roles. The Office of the Chief Scientist reported that out of the 2.3 million STEM-qualified employees, only sixteen percent were female with the largest gender gap in engineering (Chief Scientist, 2014).
There is an overarching need to encourage more young women to study STEM subjects and strive for STEM-related careers. Current studies show that young women enjoy STEM activities but four out of ten say they do not get enough practical experiences. During the early high school years, young women often lose interest in STEM fields and self-select out of higher-level mathematics, science and computer classes (). The young women that retain an interest in STEM have more career support from parents, family members, teachers and friends. A Microsoft study showed that young women cited lack of female role models in STEM as a key reason why they did not follow a career in the sector (Microsoft, 2018).
To retain more women in STEM it is crucial to demonstrate how STEM careers align with their interests, values and desire to make an impact in the world. The most efficient way to do this is by integrating real-world relevance at school, to help young women connect the dots between the changing world and STEM. Through providing key role models and educating young women about their impact on the world we will inspire them to continue in the STEM field. Specifically, we need to continue to inspire young women to develop their interest and confidence in STEM through hands-on activities and parent engagement, too.
At Actura, veteran NASA Astronaut, Nicole Stott, whose experience includes two spaceflights and a hundred and four days spent living and working in space on both the Space Shuttle and the International Space Station among other feats, acts as a suitable role model for our students, and for young women in particular.
Nicole is our Special Advisor and is a true inspiration to the students. Now recently retired from NASA, and now an artist, educator, and author, Nicole combines her spaceflight experience and artwork to inspire creative thinking about solutions to our planetary challenges, to raise awareness of the surprising interplay between the disciplines within STEM, and to promote the amazing work being done every day in space to improve life right here on Earth. It is role models like these which provide young women with tangible examples of how STEM education can benefit them directly and Actura is acutely aware of how this will impact the community of young women for the future.
