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Last year I was part of a panel discussing women in STEM. An engineer on the panel addressed the audience and she told them that everything around them had been engineered at some point in time and the danger of women not entering into engineering is that they will not be a part of the decision making process of what we are building around us.
According to the Department of Education, in Ireland there are almost 120,000 people working in STEM with just a quarter of these roles filled by women. This issue is not just unique to Ireland. In Europe, less than 7 percent of technology jobs are currently held by women.
There are a number of ways to pursue a career in STEM in Ireland. Firstly, there is the traditional way through the CAO process. STEM courses can be entered through Level 6,7 and 8 on the National Framework. Points can vary a huge amount depending on where and what you want to study but there are opportunities for applicants with a range of CAO points.
There are a number of scholarships aimed at women who decide to pursue an undergraduate in STEM but particularly for computers and technology. The Generation Google Scholarship selects women studying computer science and offers a €7,000 per year scholarship. Intel also offers a ‘Women in Technology’ scholarship with a €3,000 scholarship, an Intel mentor for the academic year and an invitation to complete a summer internship at Intel also. These are just a few of the scholarships on offer to women studying a full time undergraduate degree in these areas.
Another alternative route to studying STEM would be the new initiative announced by Minister Simon Harris on 6th December last. Students now have the opportunity to enter college through the Further Education system without CAO points. Students would enter through the standard PLC requirements. Thirteen courses are being offered in 23/24 through this initiative with opportunities to study STEM subjects such as Computer Science, Sustainable Engineering and Industrial Laboratory Science.
SOLAS provides apprenticeship opportunities here in Ireland. STEM apprenticeships on offer include Biopharma, Engineering and ICT such as Cybersecurity and Software Developer. These are ‘earn as you learn’ programmes. Apprentices would earn a wage while they are pursuing their qualification. The apprenticeships would be delivered through a combination of lectures and on the job training.
A combination of family, schools, communities, initiatives and role models will encourage girls to look into a career in STEM. There are many possible role models for girls that are leaders in their fields such as Dr. Jessica McCarthy, Head of Engineering at Google, Niamh Donnelly co-founder of Akara Robotics, and Kildare woman, Professor Tess Lambe who was awarded an OBE for her work in Science at Oxford University’s Jenner Institute.
It is important that we have women involved in the decision making processes of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics for the future of our world.
