4 Ways to Celebrate and Support IWD 2022: The STEMinist Edition
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA, March 7, 2022 /EINPresswire.com/ -- International Women’s Day is a United Nations-sanctioned global holiday commemorated every year on March 8th by celebrating women’s contributions to society, raising awareness around the ongoing fight for gender equality and inspiring support for women-centric organizations.
This year the IWD theme is #BreaktheBias with a focus on “gender equality today for a sustainable tomorrow” through challenging gender biases and misconceptions to create a gender-equal and sustainable future.
One way to challenge gender-biases is to examine the current biases that exist in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (also known as STEM). Although women make up approximately 50% of the labour force in North America, only about 25% of STEM jobs are filled by women and less than 10% of engineers are female. STEM careers have a massive impact on shaping and creating the future, from architecture, transportation, technology, AI, machine learning, decentralized finance, climate science and more. Thus, it is imperative women’s representation is greatly increased within these fields to truly create a gender-equal future.
Here are 4 STEMinist ways to celebrate and support International Women’s Day
Pop culture has a significant influence on inspiring women to pursue STEM careers along with increasing positive attitudes towards women in STEM. So much so that the term “The Scully Effect" has been coined. The Scully Effect demonstrates that girls who grew up watching the TV show “The X-Files”: (1) had more positive attitudes toward STEM; (2) were more likely to pursue an education or career in STEM; (3) and 2/3 of the women in STEM said Dana Scully served as their role model and increased their confidence that they could excel in a male-dominated field (The Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media). Not only is it important for young girls to see themselves represented in STEM but it is equally important for boys to also see girls represented as strong and intelligent STEM characters.
Here are a few iconic female lead characters that #BreaktheBias
Dr Ryan Stone, Gravity;
Abby Yates, Ghostbusters;
Murphy Cooper, Interstellar;
Ellie Sattler, Jurassic Park;
Molly Bloom, Molly’s Game;
All the women of Hidden Figures
Women make up almost half (47%) of North American business owners, however the gender gap that exists when accessing venture capital continues to represent a massive disparity in funding. In North America, less than 5% of all venture capital is invested in women-lead companies and of that, women-led companies received less than 50% of the capital that similar male-only founded companies received. This gap persists despite a plethora of data that shows women-led companies are a better financial investment, generating 78% for every dollar invested compared to male-founded companies which generate only 31% of every dollar invested (Boston Consulting Group; BCG).
Here are some amazing female-founded companies that are focused on building a gender-equal future:
FLIK (weareflik.com) connects female founders to driven females looking to gain experience and mentorship through volunteer-based apprenticeships.
NADA (nadagrocery.com) Canada’s first zero waste grocery store eliminating packaging and reducing food waste.
ACE and RILEY (aceandriley.com) a toy company focused on closing the STEM gender gap that begins in early childhood by creating fun and sassy brain boosting toys, activities and experiments.
If you do not have the ability to donate, you can show your support by following, liking and sharing social media content, subscribing to mailing lists, and/or volunteering.
Here are some incredible organizations that #BreaktheBias
Girls Who Code (girlswhocode.com) is on a mission to create the world’s largest pipeline of future female engineers. They have 8500 programs worldwide and have taught 450,000 girls how to code.
AnitaB (anitaB.org) “envisions a future where the people who imagine and build technology mirror the people and societies for whom they build it. They connect, inspire and guide women in computing and technology innovation.”
Black Girls Code (blackgirlscode.com) “building pathways for young women of colour to embrace the current tech marketplace as builders and creators by introducing them to skills in computer programming and technology.”
hEr VOLUTION (hervolution.org) is on a mission to create opportunities for the next generation of women in STEM (especially underserved communities) connecting them with leaders in the industry for career support.
Positive actions are contagious and will inspire others to take action. Show how you are supporting IWD 2022 by using the hashtags #BreaktheBias and #IWD2022
This year the IWD theme is #BreaktheBias with a focus on “gender equality today for a sustainable tomorrow” through challenging gender biases and misconceptions to create a gender-equal and sustainable future.
One way to challenge gender-biases is to examine the current biases that exist in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (also known as STEM). Although women make up approximately 50% of the labour force in North America, only about 25% of STEM jobs are filled by women and less than 10% of engineers are female. STEM careers have a massive impact on shaping and creating the future, from architecture, transportation, technology, AI, machine learning, decentralized finance, climate science and more. Thus, it is imperative women’s representation is greatly increased within these fields to truly create a gender-equal future.
Here are 4 STEMinist ways to celebrate and support International Women’s Day
1. Watch a TV show or film with strong female STEM characters
Pop culture has a significant influence on inspiring women to pursue STEM careers along with increasing positive attitudes towards women in STEM. So much so that the term “The Scully Effect" has been coined. The Scully Effect demonstrates that girls who grew up watching the TV show “The X-Files”: (1) had more positive attitudes toward STEM; (2) were more likely to pursue an education or career in STEM; (3) and 2/3 of the women in STEM said Dana Scully served as their role model and increased their confidence that they could excel in a male-dominated field (The Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media). Not only is it important for young girls to see themselves represented in STEM but it is equally important for boys to also see girls represented as strong and intelligent STEM characters.
Here are a few iconic female lead characters that #BreaktheBias
Dr Ryan Stone, Gravity;
Abby Yates, Ghostbusters;
Murphy Cooper, Interstellar;
Ellie Sattler, Jurassic Park;
Molly Bloom, Molly’s Game;
All the women of Hidden Figures
2. Support Women-Owned and Operated Businesses
Women make up almost half (47%) of North American business owners, however the gender gap that exists when accessing venture capital continues to represent a massive disparity in funding. In North America, less than 5% of all venture capital is invested in women-lead companies and of that, women-led companies received less than 50% of the capital that similar male-only founded companies received. This gap persists despite a plethora of data that shows women-led companies are a better financial investment, generating 78% for every dollar invested compared to male-founded companies which generate only 31% of every dollar invested (Boston Consulting Group; BCG).
Here are some amazing female-founded companies that are focused on building a gender-equal future:
FLIK (weareflik.com) connects female founders to driven females looking to gain experience and mentorship through volunteer-based apprenticeships.
NADA (nadagrocery.com) Canada’s first zero waste grocery store eliminating packaging and reducing food waste.
ACE and RILEY (aceandriley.com) a toy company focused on closing the STEM gender gap that begins in early childhood by creating fun and sassy brain boosting toys, activities and experiments.
3. Donate to Women-centric organizations that are geared towards creating a gender-equal future.
If you do not have the ability to donate, you can show your support by following, liking and sharing social media content, subscribing to mailing lists, and/or volunteering.
Here are some incredible organizations that #BreaktheBias
Girls Who Code (girlswhocode.com) is on a mission to create the world’s largest pipeline of future female engineers. They have 8500 programs worldwide and have taught 450,000 girls how to code.
AnitaB (anitaB.org) “envisions a future where the people who imagine and build technology mirror the people and societies for whom they build it. They connect, inspire and guide women in computing and technology innovation.”
Black Girls Code (blackgirlscode.com) “building pathways for young women of colour to embrace the current tech marketplace as builders and creators by introducing them to skills in computer programming and technology.”
hEr VOLUTION (hervolution.org) is on a mission to create opportunities for the next generation of women in STEM (especially underserved communities) connecting them with leaders in the industry for career support.
4. Share your actions on social media
Positive actions are contagious and will inspire others to take action. Show how you are supporting IWD 2022 by using the hashtags #BreaktheBias and #IWD2022