As female students in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics), we often struggled to find female role models in the field to inspire us. We feel under-represented. This is largely because, growing up through education systems, our science and mathematics courses almost totally focus on the work of men. This is why we’re calling for increased representation of women in our STEM education.
The IncludeHer Movement started when Kat Ross, an astrophysics PhD student in Australia, started looking at the representation of women and men in Year 11 and 12 Science courses in New South Wales. New South Wales students in Year 11 or Year 12 Science are currently learning about nearly 80 male scientists, but only 2 female scientists. This bias in the curriculum conveys to students that a career in science is most appropriate only for men. It incorrectly implies that women have rarely made significant contributions to the field.
We continued to look at the representation of scientists across Australian high school science courses and found this issues is not just in NSW.
We want to rectify this imbalance in the curriculum. A simple change to balance representation of females in the curriculum can make STEM accessible to so many more young women. It can inspire them to believe they can be leaders in the field. You can’t be what you can’t see.
IncludeHer strives to alter STEM courses to make them more representative of women. A small step in making the field more inclusive could result in a huge increase in female enrolment and participation.
It is high time our STEM courses began reflecting this truth.