Over the past decade, there has been an increase in efforts to try and encourage women into the STEM industry. One example of this is Stemettes, a charity founded by Anne-Marie Imafidon MBE, which runs hackathons, panel events and school events to inspire more girls and young women into the STEM sector. Recently, during lockdown, they have started livestreaming events in a program called STEM Mode In to continue to inspire young women, despite not being able to run events in person. I spoke to Anne-Marie to find out more.

Why do you think that women form a minority in the STEM sector?

I think the main reason is that historically we have not been told the stories of the women that have been in the STEM sector, whether they have been normal or extraordinary so it means that it has added up to this stereotype that means we don't think of STEM subjects as something that women do. With this stereotype in mind, it can impact policies and has meant that if you’re a young girl in school that wants to choose a science subject, or if you’re a woman working in the industry who doesn’t get promoted as much as her peers, you might not get the encouragement you need and all of these things have added up to us not get the right representation in the STEM industry.

Why is it important that girls and young women are interested in the being part of the STEM sector?

It’s important because it’s a way to ensure that there is representation in the industry and that technology and everything made in the STEM sector is suitable for all parts of society. This means that we can have a lot of power within STEM, but at the moment, we are seeing poor innovation and technologies being made from a single perspective, which is fine if you only have white men in society, but that’s not what exists in society.

Why did you decide to run the STEM Mode In program during lockdown?

Initially, it was because the Irish schools went into lockdown before the English schools did and so we thought that as this might also happen in England, we should maybe run some things for the English girls before the schools were on lockdown. And, why not fill your time among Netflix and sudoku with some Stemette experiences? We used to have Stem Mode On talks that we did in schools but then we flipped it to create Stem Mode In. It’s also been really nice to keep people inspired because if you’re a young person now, COVID-19 isn’t going to last until you’re doing your first job, so why should this blip get in the way?

What have been the highlights of the events so far?

Anne Pacros, a payload systems manager from ESA, did an Instagram Live which was very interesting and the first session was quite fun with some Zaha Hadid, an architect, inspired origami. This was also quite memorable because there were a lot of things to be learned about running online sessions with that! It’s also been really nice seeing regular attenders and watching a community forming between them.

How do you think Stem Mode In and other Stemette events will change the proportion of women in the STEM sector?

I think it’s going to change the number for lots of reasons, the first one being that we do so much more than just technology. For example we talk about the space industry, or a company like Kaluza, who will be on the next session, and are focused on climate change, and because we have so many people willing to contribute, I know that we will be able to show girls and their parents the options that they have in STEM which aren’t shown in textbooks and in schools. There’s so much that you wouldn’t otherwise know about, like being a payload engineer at ESA for example. STEM careers aren’t just being a maths teacher or a scientist in a lab, there are lots of options. Also, the events build confidence in young women in the things they can do, including using CAD and coding, and being able to use these skills in the future. And finally, it’s the network. Often, if you know other people who have been through challenges before, you know when you experience them that it’s possible to overcome them and useful to know that you’re not alone with these problems.

What was your experience being part of the STEM sector as a woman?

I really enjoyed it, when we talk about recruitment, promotion and positions of responsibility, I got all of those and I thought, I’m having a party here, why aren’t there more girls having this party with me? I really enjoyed my time in the STEM sector and I still enjoy my time there. What I enjoy the most though is, because I’m quite a creative person, creating something which will be a thing, have an impact and solve problems for people; and I love that, it’s so cool!

To find out more about Stemettes and the STEM Mode In program, visit the Stemette website here: https://stemettes.org/

By Isabella Topley, Tolworth Girls School.