Let's bust some myths
about girls in STEM
Welcome to the June edition of The GiST newsletter!
This edition of The GiST newsletter will highlight careers in STEM. We will look at some interesting STEM occupations, hear from women in STEM careers, and explore our careers resources.
Before we get into the nitty-gritty, let's enjoy a shocking engineer joke.
Q: What did the electrical engineer say when she got shocked?
A: That hertz. 😝
Careers in STEM classrooms
Did you know that, as an educator, you can influence how your students view themselves and their opportunities in STEM industries? Moreover, as a STEM-specialist teacher, you can inspire, motivate, influence and encourage girls to see themselves involved in STEM careers of the future!
Microsoft’s 2017 study to find out why European girls 'didn’t like' STEM subjects offered up several suggestions to improve interest in STEM education, including:
- visible female role models
- practical experience and hands-on exercises with real-life applications
- revealing and breaking down stereotypes
- teachers as mentors
- building confidence in equality.
To read more about this study, and how you can implement these suggestions in your classroom — with real-world applicable resources to boot — visit our website.
Women in STEM
Dr Melanie Bagg, CEO of the National Youth Science Forum (NYSF)
Dr Melanie Bagg chats to The GiST about diversity in STEM, how we can get more girls involved in STEM, and her journey from a small, rural town to becoming the CEO of the NYSF.
'I didn’t work out until after doing my PhD that I could combine both my loves – STEM and Communication – in a very exciting and diverse career. Since then, I have had a number of very exciting roles I have found out about through networking and developing many different relationships.'
There is no right or wrong way to establish an exciting career in STEM! Explore other varying journeys that today’s STEM superstars have taken to build their careers.
Careers in STEM Resources
Careers from A–Z
Anaesthetists, Boat Builders and Veterinarians, oh my!
Did you know that all three of these occupations fit under the STEM umbrella?
There is such a wide range of STEM careers possible in this big world of ours. We’ve made it a little easier for students by compiling them into an A–Z list that can be sorted alphabetically or by category.
They might just find their dream job on the list!
STEM career quiz
Knowing what careers exist in the STEM world is all well and good, but how do students decide which one is the right one for them? Our STEM career quiz is here to help!
Get your students to choose their preferred activities and we will provide them with the subjects and career options that match their interests.
Podcasts
Podcasts can be a great way to learn on-the-go and inspire students considering a career in STEM. From Queens of the Drone Age and Talk Nerdy to How I Built This, find your next favourite podcast!
Oh, and did we mention they are all run by women doing cool things in STEM?
STEM Careers
Why STEM is important
A STEM-educated workforce will play an important role in building a robust future economy. But don’t just take our word for it – we have the numbers!
Job ready skills
What STEM skills are vital for the jobs of the future?
Although we might not know what future jobs will look like, we do know they’ll involve STEM, so study up!
STEM Events
Looking for STEM events you can add to your school’s calendar? Our events page is constantly being updated.
Here are some events that might be of interest in the near future:
Australian Science Olympiads – starts 29 July 2022
Go Girl, Go for IT – coming in August 2022
