Technology & Innovation - Issue 11

Access, apply, succeed Becky Patel shares how Tech She Can is helping to break down the barriers that put girls off from pursuing potentially rewarding careers in the tech sector T echnology has long become prevalent across all aspects of our lives, and will continue to play an ever more significant role in the careers and personal lives of future generations. Some 80% of jobs in the UK require at least some form of digital skills, and we can expect a significant number of children currently in school to one day work in jobs we can’t even conceive of. And yet, females remain chronically under- represented in explicitly tech-related jobs. As a result, the country is missing out on a potentially huge pool of untapped talent, with too many girls effectively excluded from the rewards and opportunities that a career in the tech sector can offer. Successful futures The Tech She Can charter was launched in 2018, after 18 organisations agreed to collaborate and work together on changing the ratio of women working in technology roles for the better. Tech She Can then became an independent charity three years later, in order to extend its reach and impact. Today, we’re able to bring together the collective experience and expertise of over 250 member organisations in providing initiatives aimed at inspiring all children – but particularly girls – to consider future careers in technology. Our range of resources are all industry-funded, which means they can be provided at no cost to teachers, parents and children. Everything we do is based around preparing children for a happy and successful future ahead. If we’re to ensure that all children are able to participate in the jobs of the future, however, we must educate and excite them about technology, and the people who develop it, from an early age. It’s also critical that we have diversity across the workforce involved in designing, creating and implementing modern technological solutions, so that they work for everyone. Harmful stereotypes Research has shown that girls often lack awareness of tech opportunities, or worse, are actively discouraged from entering the field. Our work with teachers has highlighted to us how harmful gender stereotypes around STEM can begin very early on, with 70% of teachers noting that such biases emerge before age 11. Acting as a bridge between industry, education and policy, Tech She Can is a uniquely positioned charity capable of bringing together numerous voices from across fields of education, careers support and skills-building. Educating and inspiring the next generation of technologists is one of our core objectives, which we seek to accomplish through our TechWe Can programme of free learning materials for teachers and parents. As a teacher myself, with over 10 years experience at both primary and secondary level, I’m passionate about ensuring that children understand how their interests and passions can help guide them on their future career paths. Our Tech We Can resources will often focus on hobbies and interests, in order to demonstrate to children how these can pave the way for successful future careers within the technology sector. We’ll deliver these resources to children as young as 5, so that we can start to challenge the issue of gender stereotyping as early as possible. The TechWe Can resources are designed by a team of experienced educators who understand the challenges teachers face in classroom– such as lack of curriculum space for delivering careers-related lesson content, time constraints, limited knowledge making it hard to explore future career options for all students, the need to remember multiple passwords for different platforms and so forth. The TechWe Can resources are designed with all this in mind, in that they’re: •Available at no cost to schools and teachers • Inclusive for all, but especially female-friendly • Based on the most up-to- date industry advances and information •All available live and on-demand to accommodate varied timetables • Fully explained in our free teacher CPD sessions The aspiration gap It’s vital that teachers of all disciplines understand the importance of highlighting technology careers to their students. An awareness of technological advancements and related careers is no longer just required by students actively wanting to pursue STEM careers, but is increasingly relevant to the vast majority of subjects and students – which is why our TechWe Can resources are cross-curricular, with links to subjects spanning geography, history, PE and maths. At Tech She Can, we’re not just trying to inspire students to consider careers in technology, but also to overcome the aspiration gap. Our research has shown that gender and social mobility have a multiplying effect, with girls who experience disadvantages more likely to perceive that a tech career isn’t for them. Despite 25% of girls enjoying STEM subjects more than boys, girls attending state schools are 69% less likely to aspire to STEM careers than boys. In addition to producing the TechWe Can resources, Tech She Can designs and delivers Career Insight Days “Girls often lackawareness of techopportunities,orworse, areactivelydiscouraged from entering thefield” 58 teachwire.net