Mentoring isn’t enough. We need real advocacy and commitments for change at all levels, writes Maria Halasz, the CEO and Managing Director of ASX listed biotechnology company, Anagenics (formerly Cellmid).
Today marks the UN General Assembly’s International Day of Women & Girls in Science, advocating for “full and equal access and participation for women and girls in science.”
It’s an important day because, while there are fundamental shifts occurring, there are still huge gender gaps in most traditionally male-dominated industries.
It’s an exciting time to be a woman in science, redefining ‘science’ and its value in society and industry. Science, engineering, mathematics, medicine, computer science, manufacturing; they’re all connected, and together they make up the many changing faces of women and girls in science in Australia today. And the momentum is building.
The ‘leaky pipeline’ and its impact on women in science
‘Leaky pipeline’ is the popular metaphor for the women (and other minority groups) who are progressively lost from STEM subjects at each stage of the educational system.
Australia is a prosperous nation, so most children have access to quality education, including science, from a young age. Young girls love and perform well in science. Yet by the time they reach high school, they’re already being conditioned to consider alternate careers. Take two Sydney private schools’ 2021 Design & Technology curriculum; the girls were sewing aprons! The boys? Designing and manufacturing their own skateboards.
So even in high school girls are still being unwittingly conditioned towards the softer sciences. As girls grow up and enter university and the workforce, the disparity is compounded. Smaller numbers mean women are promoted less often, more slowly. In academia, they’re awarded less funding. And so on.
The changing roles of family
Probably the single most significant thing that we can do for women in science is to create better access to childcare. We also need to keep building the narrative that supports men to #sharetheload through paid parental leave, flexible working conditions, and having meaningful conversations around equal rights and responsibilities at home.
The more women remain in (or return more quickly to) the workforce after having children, the more success their daughters inherit and intuit. It’s a vital kind of subconscious sponsorship and endorsement of the value of the strong professional woman that’s taking place in the home now.
I see the value of this in my own daughter, who’s studying medicine. She wants to be a surgeon and is absolutely not threatened by the fact that only 12% of Australian surgeons are female. “I don’t really care,” she says. “That’s not relevant to me.” This kind of confidence doesn’t just happen. She is building on the experiences and hard work of others (thank you, Grace Tame) and all the generations before her.
Broadening stereotypes of women in science
People with a science background are extremely versatile. Whenever I’m recruiting, people with a scientific education stand out, regardless of what role they’re applying for. They’re inevitably organised, lateral thinking individuals with transferable skills, who are using their scientific training to make a difference in the world.
My own career is a terrific example. I have a degree in science and an MBA, and I have always had an interest in innovation and biotech, which evolved into a career in corporate finance. When you go into a corporate finance meeting, nobody actually realises that you’ve got a science background, even though it’s been instrumental in my career.
Social media has also obviously had a huge impact on the visibility of women in science and, more broadly, women in leadership, and the acceleration of that visibility. Young women are no longer isolated, and can see first-hand that an education in science can lead to all sorts of exciting careers.
The future is STEM
‘Big sister’ mentoring in the traditional sense simply isn’t enough. We need real advocacy for women in science through education, commerce, and industry. Women in senior management and leadership roles should actively network on behalf of young women, making introductions, writing referrals, and really pushing young women to take full advantage of their skills and abilities.
Change needs to be systemic and driven by a collaboration between government, universities and research institutes and for ongoing setting and review of targets in increasing the visibility and participation of women in science.
The Australian Government’s strategy for women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), which sets out to increase gender equity in STEM education and careers, is a huge and positive step in the right direction, promising to help catapult our daughters into bright and promising futures.