众所周知，女性在STEM领域的代表性严重不足, 特别是在技术领域. 令人担心的是, 2019年人口普查 reports that the number of women in IT has flatlined at just 16% of the workforce.
结果是, organisations are starting to get serious about levelling the playing field in this area and are carrying out some fantastic and varied initiatives. 无论是在内部创造文化转型, setting gender balance targets for the workforce or examining gender bias in the recruitment process, tech organisations are doing more now than ever before to attract and retain women in tech roles. 在Experis也是如此, we’re proud of the fact that we’ve developed our market offering so that we can support our clients as they tackle this complex issue. We have implemented our Train2Fit programme with several clients now to train and employ more women in their organisation. 我们提供性别平衡的面试小组, and support our clients by providing a diverse slate of candidates for their tech roles. 不仅如此，我们还是 科技人才约章, and live our purpose when it comes to gender diversity internally via our Affinity Network Groups.
尽管做出了这些努力，但进展缓慢而且 指针没有移动到需要的程度. 为什么不?
因为这是一个草根问题. 因为这是一个系统性问题. Because our children are STILL being conditioned every day to conform to gender stereotypes. 也许与我们之前的几代人不同, 但它还在那里, 本质上是阴险的，除非你去寻找，否则通常是察觉不到的.
我有两个女儿，一个8岁，一个11岁. 为了写这篇文章，我问了他们两个, 还有他们的朋友, 如果他们认为有“女孩的工作”和“男孩的工作”, 如果是这样的话, 它们是什么?? 作为一个觉得自己生活在一个男女平等的家庭里的人, 和一群有共同价值观的朋友在一起, 我被结果吓坏了. The “girl jobs” identified included “dress making”, “being a mummy” and “teacher”. “Boy jobs” were described as “builder”, “fireman”, “policeman” and “inventor”. 那么为什么这仍然是一个问题呢? 2012年的一项研究 当涉及到对STEM学科的态度时, children are significantly influenced by the values of their parents and other caregivers, meaning that change really needs to begin at home if we’re going to have any hope of a diverse tech workforce becoming the norm rather than the exception.
Of course we should be addressing this issue – women and men should have equal opportunity in all industries, 这是一个被广泛接受的事实 多元化的劳动力创造了更有利可图的业务. 但也许最重要的是, in today’s rapidly advancing 技术 landscape where every person is increasingly dependent on the use of 技术, I want to feel comfortable that the tech I’m using has been designed from concept through to launch by a diverse team of people who have used each of their unique perspectives so that every scenario and issue has been anticipated, 确定并解决, 使我使用的产品尽可能智能和方便. Whilst this is very much a nice-to-have when I’m scrolling through social media or conducting research for a blog article, it can be the difference between life and death if you’re looking at AI-assisted robotic surgery, 或者使用一种算法来预测早期癌症的可能性.
那么我们怎样才能在这个基本层面上有所作为呢?
家庭生活调整
We all need to ask ourselves in what areas of our home lives are gender stereotypes still being reinforced, 即使是潜意识的? “技术性”的角色是为男性保留的吗. “养育”的角色是否分配给了女性? 从你的孩子那里了解他们的信仰, 看看他们是否明白他们是如何以这种方式思考问题的. 他们在消费的媒体中接收到什么类型的信息? Can you try to “crowd out” the messages that look to reinforce gender stereotypes in favour of those that challenge the status quo?
榜样和家庭教育
无论是你孩子玩的设备, 他们沉浸其中的游戏, 他们穿的衣服和骑的自行车, 科学, 技术, 工程学和数学已经进入了这些东西的设计和创造. Do our children understand the connection between these subjects and the world around us?
的概念 “科学资本” developed by Professor Louise Archer and her colleagues at Kings College London, highlights the fact that the children more likely to pursue STEM careers are those that have parents who have interests, 已经扎根于STEM领域的爱好或职业. 像这样, it could be worth thinking about the ways in which you could be a role model for STEM subjects – do you have any relevant experiences or interests that perhaps you don’t share already with your family? 如果不是, do you have other family members or friends that could bring to life the rich landscape of STEM subjects? Failing that, which women in this field are inspirational and could be a role model?
使STEM易于获取并具有吸引力
Nowadays, there are plenty of accessible ways to teach your children about STEM subjects. 我最近给我的大女儿报了一门儿童编程课程. 在我们家, Saturday mornings are usually reserved for arguments about the volume of YouTube and the lack of completed homework. 然而，上周六早上, I didn’t see her until she emerged from her bedroom – triumphant at having written code that made a tiger move across the page. A quick Google search can point you in a million different directions to free-to-use or inexpensive resources for children to engage with.
总而言之……
作为技术招聘人员, I’m fortunate enough to help talented professionals into a plethora of career pathways that STEM education enables. But I have to ask myself: do I spend enough time telling my children about this vast array of opportunities available to them in the future?
所以在艾达·拉芙蕾丝日, 这一天是为了庆祝女性在STEM事业中取得的惊人成就, 我在设定意图, 我希望这篇文章能鼓励其他人也这样做, to thoroughly examine the social cues that my children are exposed to and then look at where can I create a shift that encourages them to think differently about traditional roles.
作者:Sarah Doyle, Experis区域经理
