Girl Geeks To Bridge STEM Skills Gender Gap

Girl Geeks, an organisation that aims to support and develop the talents of females in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM), has teamed up with Accenture to tackle the gender gap.

The technology services provider will be assisting Girl Geeks with its Girl Geeks Campus project, a new national programme to support female students interested in STEM careers.

The programme has been launched at Newcastle and Northumbria Universities and claims to offer female STEM students opportunities to discover career paths and develop employability skills.

Accenture has become one of the project’s leading employers and will provide those participating with mentoring and career guidance as well as opportunities to develop professional skills and meet industry role models.

“This is a vital initiative to encourage more women to pursue STEM careers, both in the North East and across the UK,” claimed Bob Paton, managing director, Accenture Newcastle Delivery Centre.

“Businesses – particularly those like Accenture, where we recruit STEM graduates – need to collaborate with the education sector to engage more females who are about to embark on their career paths.

“This exciting programme will increase access to career opportunities for female STEM students and ultimately help them to fulfil their potential,” Paton added.

University Participation

Alongside Accenture, both Northumbria University and Newcastle University will be involved in the Girl Geeks Campus project.

“I am delighted that Northumbria University is part of the Girl Geeks initiative to support our female students and encourage more women to pursue careers in technology, science and engineering,” claimed the educational institutions Associate Dean of Business and Engagement within the Faculty of Engineering and Environment Dr Rebecca Strachan.

“These areas will be core to the future economy, culture and wellbeing of our society and it is important to encourage a good gender balance to enter these professions.

“Girl Geeks is part of the university’s wider commitment to be a beacon for STEM engagement working with partners to inspire the next generation of technologists, engineers, scientists and mathematicians,” she added.

Tiny Proportion Of Female Workforce In STEM

According to figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), women make up 46% of the UK workforce but just 13% of the STEM workforce.

“Newcastle University is strongly committed to attract women to computer science and other STEM subjects,” claimed Professor Aad Van Moorsel, Head of the School of Computing Science at the organisation.

“Computing impacts the quality of our lives more than ever. It’s instrumental in many professional activities as well as our leisure activities and it impacts healthcare, local activism, entrepreneurship and so on.

“To exploit these opportunities to the fullest, we want to attract women from all ages to study computer science and purse computing careers. Our strong relationships with local industry helps us with our mission and we are delighted to team up with Girl Geeks and Accenture to bridge the gender skills gap,” Van Moorsel added.

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