Recently a group of twelve students from Year 13 and Year 8 attended a Female Lead event at the Science Museum promoting women in STEM.
The panel consisted of Dr Maggie Aderin Pocock, space scientist, science communicator and presenter of ‘The Sky at Night’ on the BBC; Dr Anne-Marie Imafidon, computer scientist, co-founder of Stemettes and author of the recently released book, ‘She’s in CtrL’ and Vanessa Sanyauke, CEO of Girls Talk London, entrepreneur and a sought-after speaker in ESG, business and women’s issues. The host was Julie Adenuga, DJ, and radio broadcaster.
The Female Lead is an educational charity that was set up by alumna Edwina Dunn with a mission to shine a spotlight on the women who shape our world to inspire young people.
Dr Maggie stressed that space is for everyone, yet it is too male dominated with only twelve men ever walking on the moon. STEM subjects open up a world of opportunity with the creation of plenty of jobs in the future and STEM careers are considered stable and pay well!
Dr Anne-Marie talked about Dr Gladys West, a mathematician, who recognised the value of education from an early age and went on to help invent the Global Positioning System (GPS). Anne-Marie is keen to ensure girls can make informed decisions about careers in STEM so that women can be proportionally represented in this field.
Vanessa was excited to talk about the Black Girls Tech Summit that was taking place in Berlin and London this autumn with the aim of addressing the lack of representation of black women in technology, which is less than 2% globally. She also touched on the need to be resilient and how it was necessary to tackle the toxic culture in some large organisations.
Isobel and Issy from Year 8 commented:
“The event was very inspirational and interesting to listen to. It also made us consider careers in STEM, which we never really thought about before.”
Annabelle, Year 13, commented:
“What a panel of amazing women:
Dr Maggie Pocock – overcoming the hardships of growing up in a world with no representation in the field of science.
Dr Anne-Marie Imafidon – encouraging women into the field of technology.
Vanessa Sanyauke – supporting and empowering women with careers in male-dominated fields.”
