In celebration of Women in STEM Day, Dr Gillian Lang, Director of Experience Development at Glasgow Science Centre, reflects on her experiences in the field and the ongoing challenges women face in STEM careers.

When I started my degree in Laser Physics and Optoelectronics at the University of Strathclyde in 1990, out of a class of 88, I was one of only eight women.

30 years on, my daughter is in her final year of a Chemical Physics degree and, like myself and my female peers in the 90s, she remains one of a minority of women in her year.

While recent history has seen substantial advancement in women’s equality within STEM fields, the hangover from systemic problems still lingers.

It’s long been recognised that women and girls face additional barriers to entering and achieving promoted posts within STEM professions.

Women often miss out on career opportunities and progression due to having to take time off for caring responsibilities and potential career breaks if they choose to start a family – a reality that is true of many other sectors, not just STEM.  

Generations of unchecked gender stereotyping has perpetrated a false narrative that women simply aren’t physically or intellectually cut out for careers in STEM.  

While great efforts have been made to raise awareness of and dispel these myths, and we now largely recognise these outdated, sexist assumptions for what they are, they have still left a legacy on our STEM community, and the fact remains that now only 29% of the UK’s STEM workforce are women.

So, how can we continue to build on and escalate work that’s already underway to address this imbalance? I know from my own career that women have much to contribute to industry and academia – and we’ve never been more in need of a diverse voice, as we face the looming challenges promised by the ongoing climate crisis, global conflict and emerging technologies.  

Right now, there are more women working in science, engineering, maths and technology than ever before, with one million women currently working across STEM fields across the UK. Women are not only taking up seats at the table; we’re leading the way in pioneering world-changing scientific developments, and ground-breaking research. At Glasgow Science Centre, we recognise this valuable insight and expertise women bring to STEM discussion and have 53% female staff and five female trustees on our expert board.

If we want to increase the number of women active in STEM fields, we need to create easily accessible intervention points for girls to engage in science and technology as they grow up. From nursery right up until they leave secondary school, science should be as integral a part of their education programme as maths and english.  

As an educational charity, this is what Glasgow Science Centre strives to do, by using our unique position as a third sector organisation to work with educators and industry and create these key opportunities for the public and for pupils across Scotland.

We do this by cultivating an inclusive and inspiring environment within our Clydeside centre for visitors to engage with cutting-edge research in a relaxed and accessible setting. We work closely with schools and teachers to support them with our curriculum-aligned STEM Learning Pathways approach that help to instil a lifelong interest in science and raise awareness of possible future careers in STEM.  

While not everyone in our cohort completed the course at university, and many dropped out along the way; eight women started and eight women graduated.

Women have the capability, the curiosity and the creativity to excel within STEM fields, but it will take collaboration at all levels – government, industry and leader in education - to ensure we can continue to empower them to have the ambition.