As a mother of two girls and an avid feminist myself I have always wanted to make sure that my daughters know that the world is their oyster, that their gender is not a barrier to anything that they want to achieve. I'm constantly reminding them that girls can do anything that boys can do - in fact, we can do one more thing - have babies!
I'm working with EDF Energy to publicise their new campaign Pretty Curious which aims to raise awareness of the lack of females in STEM careers. Did you know that just one in four people working in core STEM roles in the UK are women? That's a shocking statistic to be presented with in 2017. I'd love for that figure to change for the better, and there is only one way to do that - we need to positively encourage our girls into looking at STEM careers as serious options, and not just something that boys do.
EDF Energy's campaign, Pretty Curious is now entering its third year and is focused on raising awareness of the under-representation of girls in STEM and giving girls relatable role models. They want to inspire girls to take STEM related subjects at school and to consider STEM related careers. The campaign has given girls a real sense of what it might be like to work in STEM careers by providing hands-on experiences and digital content, which you can take part in yourselves on the website.
Bean loved creating an avatar of herself. This tool is great because at the end she could place her avatar in a picture and imagine herself in a STEM career. I think she makes a great biotechnologist!
On the website you can watch 360º videos to experience a day in the life of the architect of the Shard, see what it’s like to work on a wind farm or explore the offices of a software developer with our everyday amazing women. It's great to be able to show my girls real women working in these careers. They thought it was pretty cool to watch it with the VR headset that EDF Energy kindly sent us too.
One of the problems with encouraging girls into considering STEM careers is that they simply don't have the role models to identify with. These videos help to address that problem.
You can take the new parents quiz and see what STEM-related career would best suit your children. Identify their strengths, plus discover information and guidance on pursuing a career in that particular role once you receive your results. This is a great tool, if like me, you don't have much practical knowledge of STEM careers but want to be able to encourage your children to look in this direction if they want to.
I took the quiz for both of my girls - Bean came out as a Biotechnologist which is funny considering that's the same result as her avatar! Little Miss J came out as an Architect which is interesting as it's a career option that I had never considered for her, despite her avid interest and talent in drawing. Taking this quiz has helped me to see that certain traits and characteristics they have might very well lend themselves well to certain STEM careers.
EDF Energy very kindly sent us this amazing littleBits Star Wars Drone kit which I will be helping the girls to build and play with over the Christmas holidays. Keep an eye on my Instastories and YouTube channel to see how we get on!
Do you have daughters? I'd love to know what you think about EDF Energy's campaign and inspiring girls into STEM careers.
Disclosure - this is a collaborative post
Michelle Twin Mum
This is such a great campaign from EDF Energy. You are right, having those positive female role models for girls to identify with is so important and there are some great video resources and of course the modelling in the new Stars Wars film, which is super positive. Mich x
HodgePodgeDays
So good to see a big influential company like EDF Energy taking the lead on something like this. If there had been more emphasis on STEM when I was a girl it could have changed the career paths of so many of my very clever friends!
Kelly Allen
I love this so much! The avatar part looks like a LOT of fun! X
Kacie
It’s great to hear that EDF energy are encouraging more young women to aspire for STEM careers.
Kara
My daughter has her heart set on being a doctor - I hope she achieves her dream
Casa Costello
I'm loving this campaign - My eldest has expressed a desire to become a dentist or a chemical engineer which we love her for. I wish the focus on girls in science had been around when I was at school.
Arun
Its really helpfull and informative post. Thanks
Hannah
I LOVE this!! What a great thing EDF are doing