Michelle Hortle – Earth Endeavours

Michelle Hortle explores the importance of teaching girls agency and providing them with an opportunity to be creative.

Across the nation, there’s a serious gender gap in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) careers, with females making up less than 14.4% of the workforce. Women make up half of all PhD science graduates but only 17% follow on to continue in a long-term career. Why? One misconception is that STEM subjects lack creativity. Give a girl the choice of studying science or the arts and they will predominantly choose the arts. It’s also down to cultural stereotypes and gender biases—mathematicians and scientists are usually men and gendered experiences affect self-worth and confidence. Breaking down this stigma is key to encouraging girls into STEM pathways.