Women in Engineering Day

With Women in Engineering Day taking place on the 23rd of June, we reflect on the current landscape for girls entering this notoriously male-dominated industry. 

St Columba’s first opened its doors in 1897, and since then our key objective has been educating our young people for the modern world. This includes a particular emphasis on helping young women enter the world of work with confidence in themselves and in their ability to consolidate and acquire new skills and knowledge. This approach, we hope, will allow many of them to access and flourish in industries which have been traditionally dominated by men. In short, preparing our young people for the challenges their gender may pose in the world of work continues to be a very real consideration for educators. 

According to the Women in STEM Report 2012 – 2015 by the Institute of Engineering and Technology, women constitute 47% of the workforce, however only 13% work in STEM industries. Research published by ecnmy.org, an organisation which delivers economic education amongst its other activities, has found that a mere 9% of women work in engineering. Indeed, the UK lags somewhat in terms of the percentage of female engineering undergraduates (around 16%) compared with other countries across the globe, including India, where this figure exceeds 30%. In Europe, countries such as Latvia, Belgium and Cyprus are also ahead of the game, where almost 30% of engineering graduates are female. 

Indeed, the UK has considerable work to do in recruiting female STEM undergraduates, especially at a time when the country is seeing a skills shortage in these industries. McKinsey & Company’s ‘Diversity wins: How inclusion matters’ report (May 2020) found that ‘companies in the top quartile for gender diversity on executive teams were 25% more likely to have above-average profitability’. Diversity is crucial not just in STEM, and not just in relation to gender, because differing ideas and perspectives which help workplaces and workforces to excel comes from a rich tapestry of experiences. Given that employers are currently clamouring for highly skilled employees, it could be said that this presents a unique opportunity for female students interested in the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Maths. We were delighted, therefore, when a female pupil from the Senior IV cohort was awarded the prestigious Arkwright Engineering Scholarship in 2020. This constituted a truly outstanding personal achievement. As a community, we were incredibly proud that one of our pupils put herself forward for this opportunity and in winning the scholarship, she has benefitted from extraordinary opportunities including professional mentorship to exclusive networking opportunities, as well as real-world learning experiences with leading engineering firms and the RAF.  

In academic year 2021/22, St Columba’ School unveiled a new STEM Room which offers pupils a dedicated lab in which they can cultivate their STEM skills and knowledge. Here, pupils are also encouraged to express ideas, discuss important topics and test their theories and practical work. Very much pupil-led, the STEM Room is constantly evolving, with plans to include various ‘stations’ where pupils can actively engage in exciting STEM activities including coding, 3d printing, robotics, virtual reality and space. The room also houses a green screen and a meeting area which fosters open and dynamic debate. In 2022/23, Senior pupils plan to host guest speakers and impart their passion for STEM to their younger counterparts, especially those from our Junior School, through a series of activities and demonstrations.

Myriad organisations, including government, are working hard to change attitudes, policies and even legislation, to pave the way for gender diversity. The primary and secondary education sectors are, of course, key stakeholders in affecting change, most notably in promoting equity and inclusivity in our young people, the leaders of the future. At St Columba’s, we are working hard to ensure our female pupils are armed with the skills, the passion and the drive to succeed in all sectors including those that are some of the most inaccessible. More than 20 female pupils in Senior V and Senior VI are working towards a qualification to become Young Stem Leaders, as part of the Young STEM Leader Programme (YSLP). This Scottish Government funded initiative, which is run in conjunction with a number of educational, advocacy and industry partners, aims to spark greater interest and participation in STEM amongst young people in Scotland. Through the programme, older pupils inspire and mentor their peers by creating and delivering STEM activities and schoolwide events such as SepSTEMber and ChriSTEMas. By championing STEM, it is hoped that our older pupils will deepen their love for their chosen specialisms and potentially embark on STEM-related careers. In 2022, around 28% of our female leavers intend to read STEM subjects at university, including disciplines as varied as Aerospace Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Maths, Product Design, Digital Media and Medicine. 

We hope that the legacy of our Young STEM Leaders will be manifested in a continued healthy interest in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Maths at St Columba’s and that our young women succeed in industry.