Technology continues to dominate much of our daily lives, but where is the successor of Marie Curie? The famous chemist and physicist, the first person to be awarded two Nobel prizes. She made many discoveries in radioactivity and for the research and treatment of cancer they were breakthrough discoveries.The STEM fields—science, technology, engineering, and mathematics—have always had a women problem, but remarkably not equally strong in all countries. Whilst the female participation in countries like Romania and Estonia is around 40%, it is lagging far more behind in some other countries with The Netherlands at the ultimate bottom, showing only a female participation of 18% in the industry and 7% in the STEM fields of VET.Many countries, among them The Netherlands, have launched several initiatives in the past to increase the participation, but generally with very disappointing results.But why does it work in some countries and not in others?As a result of an initiative from the Dutch Government a ‘think-tank Gender ’ has been installed to advise the Minister on efficient measures, that will increase the female participation in technical programs. The think-tank now in its turn gave the advice to investigate and study the policy in those countries where the participation degree is far higher as potential Good Practices.The Dutch Technology Pact 2020, a joint initiative of central government and labour market and education, aims to acquire more female students choosing to study (and work) in the field of technology. It is one of the central measures in the pact.The MBO Raad, as Association of the VET colleges, in close collaboration with Technology Pact and INNOTECS (the European network of schools with STEM programs) wants to take the lead in a project about the exchange of successful strategies in order to increase the female participation in STEM and thus exploiting the full potential of talents and contributing to a better match between the demands of the labour market and the skills at offer. Main features of the project are:- Peer learning- gathering of a set of instruments and tools to improve the participation of female students in STEM areas.
GirlsTech set itself the goal of supporting the participation of women in the field of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). Although Europe needs more highly skilled technicians, the participation of women in STEM is very low in most European countries. Europe needs to use all the talents available, especially the talents of woman, but in fact there is a strong underrepresentation of women in the field of STEM. The project therefore focuses on peer learning activities, getting inspired by strategies from other countries and finding out which approaches from the partner countries might be suitable for others. In order to identify the needs and issues relevant for the target group, a project team was selected from three groups: high-, medium and low performing countries. Result of this selection was a collaboration of colleges and universities with a local or regional function and institutions with a national outreach. The selected partners came from eight different European countries who prepared the meetings in their own country. These meetings included a presentation of the different VET systems and their interventions to promote participation of women in STEM. During these meetings particular attention was paid to the good practices from the different participating countries. The projects achievements can be categorized in four main findings. First of all, gender stereotypes in STEM start early. Secondly, educators need to consider female entrance in STEM as a strategic priority. Thirdly, in order to engage girls teaching strategies should be redesigned. Lastly, retaining women in the STEM workforce is important. So, the open exchange of practices and ideas between the different EU countries lead to added value for the target group beyond the national context. On the basis of these findings, some valuable interventions were recommended. Especially from the good practices, some effective and transferable policy measures were identified. For example, gender equality as a policy goal contributes to (compulsory) participation of girls in STEM programmes. Also a focus on Life Long Learning, financially and substantially, can have an impact on girls choosing for STEM as a second chance. Other successful policies mentioned are, among other things, gender aware teaching, clear cooperation between schools and technical companies and female teachers as role models. The impact of this project will differ from country to country. In the Netherlands, the MBO Raad (the Netherlands Association of VET colleges) was able to disseminate the project results nationally among their member colleges. The MBO Raad is also involved in a follow-up of the project, which contributes to the sustainability of GirlTech within the Dutch contect. Beyond the Dutch context, it is likely that this project has an impact on the social inclusion of girls in STEM. What is certainly important, is that the view on gender policies and gender awareness of all the participating partners is improved. Specific information about the project can be found on www.innotecs.eu. Click on GirlsTech in the menu.