Girls could hold the key to Northern Ireland’s potential future job force and economic recovery, it was claimed today.
Educationalist Avril Hall Callaghan, General Secretary of the Ulster Teachers’ Union, was speaking in the wake of a new report revealing that women are being put off working in and studying science by ‘subtle’ messages in the media and society.
“Although girls make up half GCSE science students, by the time they reach university science departments they are outnumbered by men by a factor of two to one, according to the UK Resource Centre for women in science, engineering and technology (UKRC)” she said.
UKRC research suggests women scientists are stereotyped either as frumpy, glasses-wearing cartoon geeks or uber-sexy, Bond-film glamour pusses.
“There has been a greater increase in the number of girls studying science technology and engineering subjects at A-level than for boys. But progress is slow and this is worrying at a time when our future economic recovery is relying heavily on up-skilling our workforce in the STEM subjects – science, technology, engineering and maths,” said Ms Hall Callaghan.
“We only have to look at the education systems in the economically buoyant BRIC countries – Brazil, Russia, India and China – at the minute to see that their more vocational approach to these subjects in schools plays a key part in their success.
“We are competing now with these nations and we must give our young people – both boys and girls – the tools to succeed in a rapidly-changing world.
“The key is in strengthening the links between the world of commerce and business and education – and the best way to do that is by supplying employers with suitably trained and qualified workers.”