The hunt for the Superstars of STEM to engage more women in science

The new Superstar in STEM ambassador Lisa Harvey-Smith at the Australian Astronomical Observatory’s 3.9m Anglo-Australia Telescope at Siding Spring Observatory. Author provided

Lisa Harvey-Smith, CSIRO
Superstars of STEM is a new program by Science and Technology Australia that aims to smash the stereotypical portrait of people in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).
The plan is to identify 30 superstar women currently in STEM, and work with them to create role models for young women and girls, and thus move towards equal representation in the media of men and women in STEM.
As the new ambassador and a mentor for Superstars of STEM, my role is to encourage broad participation, which we hope will elevate the visibility of women STEM professionals in public life.

Encouraging more women in STEM

There are already some programs that support female scientists and technologists in a bid to break down systemic obstacles. These include the Science in Australia Gender Equity program. Others aim to inspire women to study STEM subjects, such as Code like a Girl or to help young women build their techno-confidence, such as SheFlies and Robogals.
Adding to this picture, Superstars of STEM aims to address public perception and is founded on the principle that visibility matters in achieving equality.
Rather than simply attempting to shoehorn women into the public eye, this new program will work with 30 women in STEM to equip them with the skills, confidence and opportunities to become role models. This approach will build on the work being done to address systemic issues facing female scientists and technologists.
A recent European study by Microsoft found that most girls became interested in STEM at around the age of 11, but their interest began to wane at 15. This is an important age, as girls are starting to make decisions that will set the trajectory of their academic life.
The lack of role models in STEM was identified as the key factor that influenced the girls in the study, as well as a lack of practical experience with STEM subjects at school. On Twitter, 92% of the most followed scientists are male. When women scientists are mentioned in the media, they often tend to be described by their appearance rather than their achievements.
The need for more female STEM role models has also been echoed in similar reports and programs in Asia, the UK, Africa and the United States.
In Australia, more than half of all undergraduates and half of PhD students are female. Almost 60% of junior science lecturers are women. But women comprise just 16% of top-level science and technology researchers, professors and professionals.

Role models

As a young kid gazing at the stars, my role models were pioneering astronauts like Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, and eccentric types such as the late, great astronomy broadcaster Sir Patrick Moore.
I thought that was enough for me, until as a 16-year-old I met Britain’s first astronaut, Helen Sharman, at Space School UK. At that moment I suddenly realised that every one of my role models in the fields of astronomy and space science had been male.
Meeting this real-life STEM superstar had a transformational influence on me. It even spurred me on to apply for the European Astronaut Program in 2009.
As someone who is passionate about astrophysics and science education I have inadvertently become a role model myself.
But the continued lack of diverse role models in STEM makes me wonder how many missed opportunities and how much unrealised potential continues to be lost. Have our young, modern-day Marie Curies, Ruby Payne-Scotts, Ada Lovelaces and Isobel Bennetts passed up on science as a subject in favour of more conventional choices?

The new superstars

In its first year, Superstars of STEM is placing 30 women in the public eye, by equipping them with advanced communication skills. This will include media training, meetings with decision-makers, and opportunities to showcase their work.
Participants will also be supported to speak with girls directly at local high schools and public events, along with establishing a public profile online.
There are too few transformational and brilliant women in the public eye. Every success in science and technology in Australia is built on the work and contributions of people across the genders. For the sake of our girls,we need to celebrate these outstanding scientists and their work.
I imagine a time when we ask children to draw a scientist and they draw somebody who looks like mathematician Nalini Joshi, molecular biologist Suzanne Cory, or astronomer Karlie Noon.

The measure of the success of Superstars of STEM will be whether young Australian women can turn on the television, read a newspaper or engage with social media and see women experts presenting STEM as an exciting and viable career. I can’t wait to witness the opportunities this change will bring.

This article was co-authored with Kylie Walker, Chief Executive Officer of Science and Technology Australia.
Lisa Harvey-Smith, Group Leader - Australia Telescope National Facility Science, CSIRO
This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.

Connecting Women in STEMM - a great meeting by all accounts

Not all of us were able to make Women in STEMM Australia's inaugural meeting this month, luckily though, Samantha Hood and Sarah Lau have written a fantastic report of the symposium - do have a read!

Yassss! Physics teacher wisdom alert about science curriculum 🚨🚨🚨 #teamEQuS @WomenSciAUST #WiSA2016 pic.twitter.com/yAPhSyMhjI

— Samantha Hood (@PaleBlueSam) September 13, 2016

There are many problems the next generation faces, such as climate change, rapidly growing energy, water and food demands, and increasing demand for healthcare with ageing populations. To solve these problems we need all hands on deck - we should all do our best to work to ensure that everyone who wants to be working in STEMM* can become the problem solvers the future needs. Fundamentally, the lack of women working in STEMM fields is a failure to harness all of the available talent.

Recently in Melbourne, we attended the inaugural Connecting Women in STEMM Symposium, hosted at RMIT. The first meeting of its kind in Australia, the Symposium supported networking for women in STEMM - and sought to address the lack of women in leadership roles in these fields. The Symposium’s attendees included people from both industry and academia who are working towards gender equity.

We are currently a PhD students studying physics at the University of Queensland, working within the ARC Centre of Excellence for Engineered Quantum Systems (EQuS). EQuS sent 7 members of the Centre to attend the Symposium and we are delighted that EQuS is being refunded by the ARC - their commitment to diversity and professional development is invaluable in creating wonderful physicists that keep Australia competitive in quantum science.

One of the best things to come out of this Symposium was the emphasis on developing professional networks so that we can learn from one another to implement best-practices. Retention of women in STEMM is complicated, and often over simplified. It’s not just childcare, unconscious bias, or a lack of confidence that holds women back, but a combination of these factors and so many more. Improvements in gender equity in STEMM fields is slow going, and the slow pace can be frustrating. So when we can find working examples of successful policies and practices we should learn from them.

The focus of the Symposium’s first session was the the Science in Australia Gender Equity (SAGE) program. SAGE seeks to address gender inequality on a University wide level, by setting realistic goals and requiring institutions to critically assess their commitment to improving equity. SAGE recognises institutions improving their gender diversity with awards - the original program in the UK (Athena Swan) saw medical bodies requiring a certain level of diversity as a funding requirement. On a School/Faculty level, it’s really hard to make changes to the workplace to accommodate more flexibility due to bureaucracy and limited funds. This is one reason why this program is so promising. It was even more encouraging to hear about how the pilot is being implemented and accepted around Australia - the awards are currently unrelated to funding outcomes so that the problem of underrepresentation of women can be acknowledged and addressed for the right reasons without becoming a box-ticking exercise.

Best practices in the workplace was the focus of the Symposium’s second session. Panelists included Associate Professor MarnieBlewitt from the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute (WEHI) of Medical Research and Professor John Carroll from Monash’s Biomedical School, discussing family practices and unconscious bias training respectively. WEHI has introduced parenting rooms for their employees who might need to bring in a sick child to work, and plan to improve their maternal and paternal leave, as well as have on-site childcare**. Prof. Carroll discussed increasing awareness of unconscious bias in his School by hiring a team to survey the staff, many of whom agreed that as a result of the training, they were more aware of inequality in the workplace. On a smaller scale, implementing harassment policies and codes of conduct for workplace meetings was a suggestion from the crowd that can be easily implemented, and shows that the employer cares about equity and supports their staff.

Another great thing about the Symposium was getting to see all of the amazing work happening across Australia (and internationally) to encourage high school girls in STEMM. These include mentoring, and passionate and inspiring outreach programs such as RoboGals and TechGirls. While the solution to the lack of women in STEMM is unknown, a good starting place is addressing attitudes and improving engagement at an early age, which is exactly what these programs aim to do.

Lovely to meet the 5 physics students flown down from Qld @ARC_EQuS for #WiSA2016 pic.twitter.com/0TiyRMxvse

— Women in STEMM Aust (@WomenSciAUST) September 13, 2016

At the other end of the spectrum, we found it really helpful as young scientists to have role models to look up to who have managed to navigate the system. In particular, there was one session dedicated to sharing the career journeys of various women in science. ‘Inspiring’ was the word heard all around the room at the end of the session, not only because of their perseverance in the face of many obstacles, but also how they demonstrate the possibility and value of women in leadership in STEMM.

There’s never been a better time to be a woman working in physics. Raised awareness of the challenges unique to women in STEMM fields has inspired international efforts to ensure that women are reaching their career potential more than ever before. Meetings like this Symposium are a great way to accelerate progress in equality by sharing ideas, and I am looking forward to seeing many more sessions in the future!

Samantha Hood and Sarah Lau

*Science, technology, engineering, maths and medicine

** While the support of flexible work environments was wonderful for many, it’s important to remember that not everyone wants children. Emphasising the importance of role models and support for the LGBTIQ community would be a wonderful idea for future meetings.