Yesterday was the International Day of Woman and Girls in Science. The day is celebrated across the globe on 11 February yearly and recognises the critical role women and girls play in science and technology. As stated by the United Nations, “Science and gender equality are both vital for the achievement of the internationally agreed development goals, including the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. […] At present, less than 30 per cent of researchers worldwide are women. Globally, female students’ enrolment is particularly low in ICT (3 per cent), natural science, mathematics and statistics (5 per cent) and in engineering, manufacturing and construction (8 per cent).” Often gender stereotypes influenced by a lack of representation of women in science and STEM fields on screens or in public spaces consequently keep women and girls away from STEM careers.

This is why at the Tech School, we are choosing to showcase the great work woman and girls do within our programs. During our latest STEM camp in January, a participant created a very detailed game using MakeCode Arcade. Facilitator Emma, was very impress by the level of complexity this student was able to achieve with her game in only 3 days! Check out the video below.
In 2018, the Department of Education and Training in collaboration with Her Place Women’s Museum Australia supported by the Royal Society of Victoria launched at the Banyule Nillumbik Tech School, the STEMpowered exhibition across all Victorian Tech Schools. Each Tech School showcasing the stories of women in STEM careers. You might remember seeing Lisy Kane, a videogame producer from Melbourne that we showcased at the Banyule Nillumbik Tech School. Lisy Kane “[…] loved games from a very young age, but I didn’t ever think that games could be a career.”

We hope the Tech School helps changing and influencing the belief of many regarding the place of women and girls in science, and game design is only the surface!

To learn more about Lisy Kane and the STEMpowered initiative, check out the link below.