On Thursday 11th February 2021, the world celebrates the amazing contribution that women and girls have had to science.
Watch, read and listen, and get to know the amazing Women in STEM that we have featured throughout the year. They’ve got a lot to say, and they’re saying it loud enough to change the world.
Resources are split into the following sections:
Professional reading for educators
Opinion: Five factors that will hold back diversity in STEM in the future, and how to overcome them
The quest for diversity in Australian STEM faces some big challenges in the coming years, write Astha Singh and Kristin Alford.
Australia has hundreds of programs to get women into STEM, but are they working?
“The lack of women in STEM jobs exacerbates the national skills shortage and dampens Australia’s potential to lead the way in transforming our current industries and creating new ones.”
The possible reason girls are less likely to pick STEM careers
Girls score the same in maths and science as boys, but higher in arts – this may be why they are less likely to pick STEM careers.
STEM to inspire
Windows to the Stars
For seven decades, the world worked to map the heavens – a massive endeavour that ran from the 19th century to the era of manned space flight, taking in two world wars and vast social change. In this article, we explore Australia’s role in the project and the lives of those who measured the stars: the “lost women” of Australian astronomy.
In Class With… Climate Special
This In Class With… Climate Special aims to show students how and why they can get involved in the conversations around climate change. It’s not about striking, but using their science understanding to form opinions and be part of discussions around climate change, and thinking about the role they can play in the democratic processes that affect them.
My talk with Jane Goodall: vegetarianism, animal welfare and the power of children’s advocacy
Dame Jane Goodall and Professor of Animal Welfare, Clive Phillips, discuss unique human characteristics, societies’ moral obligations to animals, and conservation of the planet.
Cosmos: Possible Worlds: What will the future look like?
Ann Druyan is the executive producer, director and writer of the new National Geographic series Cosmos: Possible Worlds. From science fiction to the importance of science in everyday life, she is a woman on a mission, a woman who wants to share her vision, and she has done just that.
Career inspiration
What climbing some of the world’s highest mountains taught heart researcher Nikki Bart
“Mountaineering gives you the opportunity to challenge yourself and think outside the box – this experience helps me think laterally in the lab.”
STELR Career Profiles in STEM – Wind Energy Engineer
These videos explore the work of Senior Mechanical Wind Energy Engineer, Rosemary Barnes and provide a step-by-step tutorial for students to design their own turbine blades using CAD.
Working In…
The Working In… series compiles a selection of fascinating STEM jobs in a multitude of fields. They are designed to highlight the variety of STEM careers available to students that they may not have considered, or been aware of before now.
Kirsten is the astrophysicist of the future
Kirsten Banks is a rising star of astrophysics, getting people excited about the universe and the importance of combining contemporary and Indigenous knowledge in STEM.
Meet our Indigenous researcher: Marlee Hutton
Marlee Hutton is a Bardi Jawi woman and a Marine Scientist. She works to advance the connection between science and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and is currently doing so with her citizen science project, EyeOnWater.
Jane Oppenheim and her career in science-based skincare
Researcher Dr Jane Oppenheim was the 2019 Clunies Ross Entrepreneur of the Year. In this article, you will find out about her career in pharmaceuticals and in the podcast, she talks about how science has laid the basis for both healthy skin and significant growth in manufacturing jobs.
Letters to Year 12 students
A letter to Year 12 students from the woman taking Indigenous astronomy into the future
Kirsten Banks talks about walking through all the doors that open in life and recognising opportunities when they come along.
A letter to year 12 students from an environmental engineering guru
Ellen Moon from Deakin University talks about making decisions, and how you always have the ability to travel down a different path.
A letter to year 12 students from Australia’s science teacher of the year
PM’s prize-winning science teacher Samantha Moyle has some hacks that all students should know.
