STEM Women Redressing the Balance

Graduate recruitment and networking website launches STEM Women.

STEM Women is a newly launched website dedicated to the recruitment, guidance and support for women who are studying or have graduated in a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) subject and want to take up a career within these disciplines.

It started out as a section on the Liverpool-based STEM Graduates website but as it proved so popular among students, graduates and employers it was decided to set up its own site. This week sees its official launch.

Why, you might ask, is it important for female STEM graduates to have their own site? It is important because of the shortage of women taking up a career in STEM following graduation, and the shortage of women taking these courses. It has been reported that although the number of women who graduate at degree level exceeds that of men, and roughly half of the UK workforce is female, only 14.4% of those working in STEM are women. This is a problem for the economy and the advancement of science, technology, engineering and mathematics in the UK because we are losing out on so much talent and valuable contribution.

The employers within these disciplines need to recruit far more people than they are currently able to, as graduates are enticed away by rewards in other lines of work. The people they are able to attract are overwhelmingly male. Why is this so? Girls consistently do well and often outscore boys in STEM subjects at GCSE, yet a large percentage do not continue in these subjects at ‘A’ Level. Even fewer want to study STEM subjects at degree level and beyond, or continue into a career specifically for STEM graduates.

The consensus is that there is a distinct lack of female role models in STEM careers. There is generally very little encouragement for female participation beginning in the home and amongst personal friend networks. Therefore there is no ready source of advice and support for a young woman who might be interested in a career in STEM; it could be seen as a form of silent discouragement. The perception that it is “no job for a woman” still persists.

STEM Women intends to turn it around. They are providing a source of encouragement, advice and support for female STEM students and employment opportunities for female STEM graduates, while at the same time letting employers know about the highly qualified pool of talent that is out there waiting for their chance to show what they can do. It would be a shame to miss out. 

This website was set up to support the main website of STEM Graduates and intended to compliment it. We hope STEM Women is a great success for recruiting women into the technical and engineering sectors.

STEM Women - www.stemwomen.co.uk

Tempest Building, Tithebarn Street, Liverpool, L2 2DT

Telephone: 0151 236 8000 - Email: info@stemwomen.co.uk