Here come the girls: Inspiring the next generation of women in technology

It’s an exciting time to be an eleven year old girl.

Our current workforce is on the brink of a new era. The gender gap in the workplace is a hot topic and efforts to address it are more important than ever. Thankfully, it seems they’re more prevalent too. The future looks good.

But the future is, well, in the future, and despite the progress being made there’s still work to do. It stands to remain that women are still massively underrepresented in the vast majority of industries, especially in fields like science, technology and engineering - leaving us with a lot of untapped talent. But this could soon change.

Tackling the gender gap

The STEM fields (science, technology, engineering and maths) are notorious for being a male-dominated world. Only 23% of people in STEM fields are female, which means we’re missing out on a lot of valuable perspectives. So what can we do to increase those numbers? We can start by challenging the perception of what it means to work in STEM, and that’s something Sharon Forder, our Inclusion Manager at RBS, is doing with young girls in Edinburgh.

Sharon has partnered up with SmartSTEMs, an organisation that’s inspiring girls of all backgrounds to pursue a career in STEM. With their support, Sharon has been co-running Girls in Technology, an event aimed at inspiring a new generation of young women to become the designers and innovators of the future.

Busting myths and stereotypes

Each year on International Women’s Day, around 150 girls from local schools visit our Gogarburn campus in Edinburgh to enjoy an action packed day that aims to educate and challenge them on what it means to work in STEM.

‘Deciding on a future career is a huge decision, but it’s one that children are encouraged to think about at a relatively young age’, says Sharon. ‘The problem is that even from as young as seven or eight, they can have a very fixed mindset when it comes to ‘boy jobs’ and ‘girl jobs’. It’s important to address that early on, so they can explore all of the opportunities available to them.’

And that’s exactly what the Girls in Technology event allows these girls to do. The day begins with a goody bag and a warm welcome from Patrick Eltridge, RBS’s Chief Information Officer, and then the fun begins. ‘As part of the day we have a Careers Fair, and it’s a brilliant way to give the girls an insight on the different types of jobs within STEM,’ says Sharon. ‘We invite other companies to come along on the day and run their own stall, and this year we have EDF Energy, ThinkTank Maths and the Navy joining us, with some really exciting stuff in store.’

But the fun doesn’t stop there. ‘As part of the day we also run workshops, which are often the real eye-opener for the girls,’ Sharon says. ‘Companies like Microsoft, Beyonder and even our own Digital Engineering team showcase what it actually means to be an engineer, or an app designer, or a software developer, and offer practical examples of how STEM forms part of their everyday life.’

Challenging perceptions

It’s these examples that help to form a more realistic view of what a career in STEM could involve. You could be working in STEM and taste chocolate for a living. You could design video games. You could be trying to cure cancer, or tackle global warming. The possibilities are endless.

Next, the girls get to hear from women in a variety of roles in RBS, who share their career stories and offer an insight into the different roles available in the bank. But the most popular part of the day is when the girls get to roll up their sleeves and dive into the world of programming.

‘It’s not just enough to educate girls on the types of roles available in STEM – they need to know they’re capable of doing them too’ Sharon explains. ‘Our Code Club does just that. Whether they’re new to coding or more advanced, the session gives the girls the opportunity to experiment and have fun with code, and ultimately bring programming to life.’

And what do the girls think?

‘This years event will be our third, and the feedback we get each year is how much of a positive effect the event has on the girls,’ Sharon says. ‘And you really do feel that on the day. When they’re packing up to leave and you overhear them talk about the different careers they’d be interested in, you can’t help but feel proud to be part of something that really is challenging the way girls feel about careers which, six or seven hours before, hadn’t seemed like an option for them.’

Back to the future

It’s events like Girls in Technology that will help young girls to thrive in the 21st century. They provide a platform for girls to feel both inspired and empowered to break boundaries and seek change, and their importance has never been greater.

So what can you and I do? There’s no doubt that the boys and girls of ‘Gen Z’ will reshape the world as we know it. But we need to do the groundwork first. We owe it to them – and ourselves – to continue creating more diverse and inclusive workplaces. We need to continue the conversation about gender equality. We need more men and women like Sharon, and events like Girls in Technology. And we need to show the next generation that girls can do science, technology, engineering and maths too.