Support Women in STEM

Support Women in STEM

Based on the past mentoring programs and experiences, Women STEM-Up project has developed a mentoring program for female undergraduate students as mentees, and university staff and women STEM professionals as mentors. The project partners have now launched a call for mentors:  women STEM professionals, scientists, entrepreneurs, and innovators who are interested or involved in supporting women in STEM fields. Whoever is committed and passionate about women staying in STEM fields and look for ways to inspire and support them, this is a great opportunity.

Bridging the Gender Gap: Encouraging Men into Female-Dominated Jobs. An Experiment in Social Work.

Bridging the Gender Gap: Encouraging Men into Female-Dominated Jobs. An Experiment in Social Work.

The study suggests several avenues for future research to further understand and address gender imbalances in the workforce. One key area is exploring how different aspects of job design, beyond recruitment strategies, might influence men’s decisions to enter female-dominated fields. Additionally, investigating the long-term effects of these interventions on both male and female workers’ career progression and job satisfaction could provide a more complete picture of diversity and inclusion in these sectors. Finally, expanding the research to other industries and cultural contexts would help determine the broader applicability of these findings and refine strategies for fostering gender diversity across various industries.

Changing the Equation-Securing STEM Futures for Women

Changing the Equation-Securing STEM Futures for Women

Science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) are seen as the fields of the future, with expanding job opportunities creating the goods, services and innovations that shape our daily lives. Yet women and girls form a third or less of the students, employees and innovators in these fields. When they do work in STEM, women earn 85% or less of what men are paid, and they are more likely to be the target of gender-based violence and sexism than women in other fields. Virtually no progress has been made in the past two decades.

There is a motherhood penalty in job quality.

There is a motherhood penalty in job quality.

Whilst pay is an important marker of a ‘good’ job, other aspects of work – such as the demands it places on workers, the level of control they have, working hours, flexibility and job security – also impact employees’ wellbeing significantly.(Green et al, 2024) This is known as ‘job quality’. Our research shows that mothers, particularly those with young children, face multiple disadvantages when it comes to job quality. We have termed this the ‘motherhood penalty in job quality’.