The gender gap in science is real, and closing it will capitalise on national investment to diversify the scientific workforce and benefit UK’s health and economy.
A 2014 YouGov poll in the United Kingdom found that more than half (54%) of the people polled could not name a woman in science. Even when scientists think about women in science, famous and high-profile women such as Marie Curie typically first come to mind. However, even she battled both sexism and xenophobia during her life. We in SI Weston super Mare have taken action and believe effort must go into increasing and consolidating links between the STEM sector and schools to give girls the stimulus to rethink their career options through this annual event where schools, industry and science professional collaborate to showcase STEM based careers opportunities. Skirting Science helps to provide a genuine solution to help to close the gender gap. It has won an International Award and our club is proud of the achievements of the Skirting Science team ably led by Ruth. The premise that our efforts are important to very future of the UK’s economy and financial well being may sound grandiose, but this project involves many schools with many girls who benefit from an experience which offers a real insight into STEM work skills, without which our futures may be compromised – https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/254885/bis-13-1269-professor-john-perkins-review-of-engineering-skills.pdf .
