How to get more girls into STEM with wearable technology

By Michelle Hua and Marija Butkovic, Co-founders and Directors of Women of Wearables

As the STEM sectors continue to grow, the rate at which women are taking up jobs does not compare to that of men. Despite increasing awareness of the importance of diversity, particularly its role in addressing the current skills gap, there is still no sign of greater change when it comes to solving this problem in STEAM industries (science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics). 

Diversity matters

The UK has the lowest percentage of female engineering professionals in Europe, at less than 10%, while Latvia, Bulgaria and Cyprus lead with nearly 30%. With only 15.8% of female engineering and technology undergraduates and 17.4% women studying computer science, it is no wonder these industries in the UK are still male dominated. It is also extremely disappointing to see that the overall percentage of female STEM apprentices remains static and that there has been no significant increases in the uptake of these apprenticeships by women over the last few years. 64% of engineering employers say a shortage of engineers in the UK is a threat to their business, while 32% of companies across sectors currently have difficulties recruiting experienced STEAM staff, and 20% find it difficult to recruit entrants to STEM.

Read the whole blog post Michelle and Marija wrote for Education Technology magazine here.