Engaging girls and young women in STEM careers through inclusive practices and the promotion of gender equality.
Context
The STEM Girls project aims to promote STEM careers, especially among girls and young women. To achieve this goal, the project starts by integrating educational practices that take gender issues into account, to ensure that the STEM world is free of stereotypes. Through the involvement of the educational community, parents, and female students, the project aims to equip each of these groups with ad hoc resources and appropriate methodologies so that female participation in engineering careers becomes normalized and we can therefore aim for a fair, inclusive job market.
Objectives
- Training and engagement for teachers, parents, and guidance counselors who will provide tools and strategies to support girls in engineering, boosting their confidence and breaking down gender stereotypes.
- Highlighting female role models to inspire girls to explore these fields.
- Collaboration with companies: development of practical projects for girls in collaboration with companies, demonstrating the real-world applications of engineering and establishing links with the job market.
- Extracurricular activities: workshops and immersive activities for girls to improve technical skills and self-confidence.
- Personalized mentoring with female engineers who will provide career guidance, emotional support, and motivation.
- Integration of gender equality into the curriculum.
Activities
- Workshops for parents and the educational community (teachers, trainers);
- Workshops for girls held in Lithuania, Spain, and Norway;
- Continuous integration of the ad hoc platform for the Observatory on Women in STEM Careers;
- Creation of an online support network for the educational community, parents, and guardians.
Resources
- Online observatory on Women in Engineering;
- Audiovisual materials on workshops with girls;
- Manual of good practices for STEM career guidance;
- Specific resources on integrating gender issues into STEM curricula.
Impact
STEM Girls was designed to have a broad, multi-sector impact:
- On girls, promoting motivation, confidence, and skills for success in STEM disciplines.
- On educational environments, through inclusive practices that promote gender equality.
- On educators, providing them with the tools to guide girls in scientific or mathematical disciplines.
- On society, by normalizing female participation in STEM disciplines.
These outcomes ensure that the project achieves its objectives and creates sustainable and replicable changes in education and gender perception in STEM disciplines.
Partners
- UNIVERSITETET ITROMSOE -NORGES ARKTISKE UNIVERSITET (Norwaya, coordinator),
- VILNIAUS GEDIMINO TECHNIKOS UNIVERSITETAS (Lithuania),
- CESIE ETS (Italy),
- IES San Vicente (Spain),
- Stiftelsen Tromsø International School (Norway)
- Vilniaus Gedimino technikos universiteto inzinerijos licejus (Lithuania)
- NTT DATA Spain (Spain)
