Getting girls into physics

Dr Tanya Morton, application engineer manager at MathWorks, talks about gender balance and how to get girls interested in STEM

On the International Girls in ICT Day Dr Tanya Morton, application engineer manager at MathWorks, looks at gender balance and how to get girls interested in STEM.

The stereotypical image of the engineer or technologist is in need of a refresh. Successful engineers and technologists can come from all walks of life, but this is rarely reflected in the images and stereotypes we see around us. Ask a high-school student to draw a scientist and you’ll probably get an image resembling Einstein; ask them to draw an engineer and you’ll probably get a man with a spanner; ask them for a computer scientist and you’ll probably get a guy keen on science fiction and junk food. We need to diversify the role models we use, and make sure that all young people – boys and girls – are comfortable with technology from an early age.

This is why initiatives such as International Girls in ICT Day, held every April, are so vital in raising awareness of the need to create both an environment and a cultural climate that empowers and encourages young women to consider careers in engineering and technology.

Statistics support the need for this initiative. Physics is an important basis for careers in engineering and technology, yet the percentage of girls studying the subject at A-level has remained at approximately 20% for the past 20 years. The percentage of schools that failed to send any girls to complete A-level physics in 2011 was 46%, compared to only 14% for boys. At a time when the UK is already struggling with a STEM skills shortage, we are missing a great resource simply by not investing in women. As the Royal College of Engineering recently told the Business, Innovation and Skills select committee, “women represent a potential pool of talent that cannot be realised whilst gender stereotyping persists”.

Role models can play an important part in enthusing young people, in helping to promote STEM subjects and in bringing applications to life. Girls should be inspired to be the next Ada Lovelace and to follow in the footsteps of successful women in technology. For this to happen, we need to make these female scientists and technologists more visible. The names of Professor Dame Ann Dowling, Jen Fitzpatrick and Linda Cureton should be just as familiar as Brian Cox, Mark Zuckerburg and Eric Schmidt.

Hands-on access is key and this can be achieved by bringing technology and its applications directly to the classroom. Giving all kids the chance to understand how technology works through project-based learning is far more engaging than just reading about the subject in a text-book.

For instance, the use of Raspberry Pi computers in our schools is a great way for girls and boys to try their hand at programming and feel the excitement of not just using, but creating, the technology of tomorrow. For students to be able to control an Arduino board, build a computer model, or design a website and say “I did that” is incredibly empowering and enables them to get to grips with technology on their own terms.

There also needs to be a cultural shift in the way that STEM-based industries are perceived. Getting people of all ages and both genders on board to highlight what’s so exciting about these industries and raising awareness of the value that engineering and technology brings to our everyday lives will help. Support also needs to come from outside the traditional school environment. Extra-curricular projects including code clubs and maker communities are a great way to get young people investigating technology by encouraging them to learn, create and collaborate, for example.

Finally, the best people to support aspiring engineers and technologists are those already in the industry. It’s up to us to lead the charge in helping young women, and men, become the next generation of engineers, mathematicians and software developers. There has to be increased collaboration between industry, academia and society in order to shift attitudes and ensure that young people are able to carve their own paths in the STEM subjects and beyond.