WESTEM's goal was to increase awareness among HEI staff, teachers, and the student community about the challenges that women face when studying STEM Careers. Long-term impact requires sustainable strategies, including increasing the recruitment and retention of women in STEM Careers and promoting inclusive learning environments that support and encourage female participation in STEM Subjects. This project wanted to set a pathway for better and inclusive opportunities for girls and women in STEM by providing self-assessment tools and materials for HEI staff to increase their readiness in promoting female participation in STEM Careers, as well as fostering inclusive learning environments that could encourage and inspire women's participation in STEM Subjects. Additionally, we wanted to empower young women to step confidently into STEM fields, increasing the visibility of female role models and providing a platform with resources that support and inspire women to enroll and complete STEM field studies.
The project aimed to address the underrepresentation of women in STEM fields across Europe. Women are significantly underrepresented in STEM disciplines. Despite comprising 52% of the European population, women hold only 30% of entrepreneurial and 32% of economic leadership roles. In STEM, women make up only 28% of the workforce, with men outnumbering them in most college STEM fields (Global Sustainable Development Report, 2019). Across Austria, Greece, Italy, Sweden, and Cyprus, efforts have been made to promote gender parity in STEM fields. Despite progress, female underrepresentation persists, especially in university STEM courses and among degree holders is attributed to structural and cultural factors that continue to impede women's full participation. Therefore, it was essential for this project to address the gender gap, especially at High Education Institutions (HEI), where we could improve HEI Faculty staff's capabilities, competencies, and mindset to reverse the trend of increasing STEM dropout rates of girls. By doing so, we could also address the need for more female role models as sources of empowerment and inspiration for future generations of women in STEM.