A lot is spoken about the importance of empowering women in STEM fields, and there has been significant progress achieved in this area, from mentorship programs to financial assistance. However, recent data shows that there is still a lot of work to be done.
More than 10,000 third-level students in Ireland across seven sectors were recently surveyed, and the results indicated a 14 percent pay gap between men and women.
When it comes to science and technology, Pfizer’s research last year found that 15 percent of men were working in STEM compared to 7 percent of women.
Despite the fact that women now make up half of the student body in life sciences courses, less than one-fourth of the faculty are female, according to a 2019 assessment of more than 500 scientific institutes.
In the meantime, what has it been like for women in the industry? Jill Christian, Amgen’s supply chain director in Ireland, was contacted by Siliconrepublic.com.
For the past ten years, she has worked in the supply chain field, having previously worked as an engineer for companies like Jacobs Engineering and Roche, Bristol Myers Squibb, and now biotech behemoth Amgen.
She remarked that the STEM field has evolved dramatically in the two decades since she graduated. There were “very few females in leadership positions in those large companies” when she graduated, she said. There was a time when “45 percent of the senior leadership team members were women,” but today “I can say that I’m a proud member.”
When it comes to encouraging more women to choose a career in science and technology, some advocate for more leadership and corporate involvement, while others advocate for early intervention in the classroom.
Something must be done both from the ground up and from the top down, according to Christian’s advice. In her role as a mother of three young girls, she believes “we definitely need to get into schools earlier and we need to encourage science, and I think we need to be aware that there is a gender bias in society toward young girls.”
There has to be more women coming up about their experiences at all levels of every company, and then there needs to be mentorship and sponsorship for females to assist them grow.
That being a woman working in a male-dominated sector presented its own set of obstacles when it came to ensuring her voice was heard.
When I’ve taken on leadership responsibilities in various organizations, I’ve had to figure out a way to get my voice heard while remaining true to myself and not compromising who I am in order to be heard.
