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Industry & Research
Power and money
' Fix the system , not the girls ': Australia ' s women in STEM problem
By Erin Nixon
Women make up approximately 30 per cent of the tech workforce in Australia , and the federal government could do more to support gender equality in the industry , according to advocate groups .
In a traditionally male-dominated industry , advocate organisations like social enterprise Girl Geek Academy ( GGA ) and Women in STEM Ambassador are working to level the playing field .
Advocate organisation Girl Geek Academy submitted to industry and science minister Ed Husic ’ s ‘ Diversity in STEM Review ’, calling on the federal government to utilise more of its budget to encourage gender diversity in STEM careers .
“ The Federal Government holds $ 16 billion worth of contract ' carrots ' that can incentivise the tech industry to deliver gender equality ," GGA co-founder and chief Sarah Moran said .
The GGA submission included a survey of more than 300 people in tech , sharing examples of conscious and unconscious gender bias in the industry .
The social enterprise has spent the last 10 years advocating for gender equality in tech with the mission to bring one million women and girls into technology careers by 2030 .
It recently delivered a program teaching AI skills to 1,000 high school girls and also ran the world-first all-women hackathon # SheHacks .
The federal government ' s 16 billion in tech-related contracts , each valued at over $ 100,000 in FY22 , and GGA has said this funding could be better used to solve Australia ' s ' women in tech ' challenge .
It suggests that a gender equality action plan should be a requirement in bids for government-funded tech-related contracts .
“ We need to fix the system , not the girls , and it ’ s a billion-dollar system the government has both the power and money to change ,” Ms Moran said .
" If you ’ re getting government money , you should prove you ’ re ensuring women remain included in the tech workforce , no matter the economic conditions . Or the money should go to the tech providers that will .”
The federal government has set a target to grow Australia ’ s tech workforce to 1.2 million by 2030 , with this increased
If you ’ re getting government money , you should prove you ’ re ensuring women remain included in the tech workforce , no matter the economic conditions .
workforce coming from diverse cohorts – particularly women .
Australia ' s Women in STEM Ambassador , headed by Professor Lisa Harvey-Smith , was appointed in 2018 ' to grow Australia ’ s skilled workforce by removing structural barriers to participation '.
Women in STEM is evaluating the STEM equity programs in Australia and has developed a National Evaluation Guide for STEM equity programs ( The Guide ) and the STEM Equity Evaluation Portal ( the Portal ).
The Portal and Guide , developed by Dr Isabelle Kingsley , help STEM equity program leaders self-evaluate their programs .
STEM equity programs seek to address the under representation of marginalised groups in the industry . ■
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