What do we want? Herstory. When do we want it? now. Those were the powerful words of incredibly inspiring, young girls, boys, men and women as they walked in the footsteps of unrecognised women and girls in STEAM.
Stemettes encourages girls and young women and non-binary people to pursue STEAM careers through engaging, informing and connecting the next generation.
Since it was founded, Stemettes has worked with over 60,000 young people, making an enormous difference to the world of STEAM. To mark its 10th birthday, Stemettes have a whole year of celebrations ahead, kicking of yesterday with its Waterloo Bridge event.
The event highted the lack of women in STEM role models in the GCSE/A-Level curriculum, with a procession across Waterloo Bridge by the Stemettes team and supporters.
Why Waterloo Bridge? Waterloo Bridge, also known as ‘The Ladies Bridge’ was built during World War II by a number of women who failed to be recognised for its creation.
Thankfully, through the work of historians, professors and investigators, the work of these women is finally coming to light.
The Stemettes event aims to further this by showing that women play a vital role in STEM fields, even though society hasn’t highlighted them in the way they deserve.
History is missing the ‘herstory’
The event celebrated the women who built Waterloo Bridge, who went unrecognised for so long.
Of course, this is just one of many events in history missing the ‘herstory’. Many events get obscured, or we don’t get to see them at all. It’s the role of Stemettes to bring light to these events, ensuring herstory is heard.
“As we celebrate this 10 years, a big part of what we’re working on and trying to change, is telling these stories,” explained Dr Anne-Marie Imafidon, Head Stemette and CEO, Stemettes.
Anne-Marie highlighted the significance of the event, and young girls and boys shared their key inspirations in STEM.
Anne-Marie was chosen by a handful of the youngsters as their STEMspiration, which makes sense seeing as she was voted the Most Influential woman in tech in the UK in 2020. She also hosts the popular Women Tech Charge Podcast for the Evening Standard.
Stemettes recently commissioned a survey with he BSA (British Science Association) into the current situation in schools.
One in three young people say they haven’t or don’t remember being taught about a female scientist in the past two years.
What’s even more interesting is 70% of young people between the ages of 14 to 19 who were surveyed also said they thought it was important for schools to include information about women in STEM role models in the curriculum.
Dr Laura Norton, Head of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion at the IET, said: “It’s hard to be what you can’t see which is why it’s so important to shine a spotlight on the incredible women who have changed our world for the better. We have a responsibility and opportunity to celebrate the achievements of women in STEM to eliminate damaging and misconceived stereotypes and show young people just how exciting, creative and life-changing working in this industry can be.”
The importance of role models speaks for itself. The event yesterday was filled with eager young girls and boys already hooked and excited by the STEAM industry, and the aim is to continue this journey to reach the next 60,000.
It was an absolute privilege to be at the Stemette celebratory walk across The Ladies Bridge and the Student Circuit team are excited to work with the abundance of inspiring women we met.
