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The specialist in print technology has highlighted the gender gap still present in various industries
Following on from International Day of Women and Girls in Science (February 11th), Carole Noutary, beyond printer director at Domino Printing Sciences, has proposed business strategies to promote diversity in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) roles.
Noutary says that despite progress in gender equality and growing interest over the last decade, women are still underrepresented in STEM fields.
Statistics highlighted by Noutary show that women make up less than 30% of the global STEM workforce.
A recent report by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) found four key factors to the gender gap were stereotypes, unconscious bias, lack of role models, and work-life imbalance.
In this case, the demanding hours and the masculine assumptions and traits of many roles can mean women remain more likely to choose options like part-time work to handle family responsibilities.
Addressing how businesses can address this imbalance, Noutary says: “We need to address the still prevailing misconception that men are somehow better equipped to succeed in the STEM industry.”
Noutary explains: “Businesses can play a crucial role in instilling the belief that women not only belong but can thrive in the STEM industry by promoting effective female role models and encouraging women working in STEM to share their stories.
“This should be a focus not just within the business itself, but within local communities, and educational institutions, to help encourage and inspire young women and girls – even at a primary school level. Concentrated and coordinated efforts to increase the visibility of the female STEM workforce, including those in senior leadership positions, will encourage interest in STEM careers as we strive to create a more diverse and inclusive working environment.”
SheCanCode has been highlighted as an initiative to encourage more women into technology industries as an example of a community and platform that can be engaged with to improve diversity in a workplace.
Noutary also stresses the importance of organisations supporting women at all stages of a career, from entering a job to transitioning, remaining, or returning to the STEM industry.
Promoting engagement with technology at a younger age is critical says Noutary as she states that evidence both globally and within Domino shows that effort and commitment to increasing diversity is effective in increasing the
presence of women at all levels of a business.
Careers in STEM are naturally changing, as are many jobs with the changing of work habits, technology, and day-to-day life. It is believed that those working in STEM should embrace their own way of doing things (inclusive of gender).
Noutary concludes: “As we celebrate the International Day of Women and Girls in Science 2024, the best way to encourage and nurture girls and women in STEM is, in my opinion, to embrace uniqueness; that is how we will individually add value and collectively drive the change that we are seeking to achieve. As Oscar Wilde famously said: “Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.”
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