How Can Schools Get More Female Students Interested in Tech?

As a woman working in tech, I’m all too aware of the gender gap in the technology industry, for example, according to the pwc only “5% of leadership positions in the technology sector are held by women”. ¹ 

The pwc also shares that this gap starts at school. Here are some of the statistics they shared based on research with 2,000 A-Level and university students:

• 3% of female students have a tech career as their first choice
• 78% of students can’t name a famous woman working in tech
• 16% of females have had a technology career suggested to them (compared to 33% of males)
• 27% of female students said they would consider a career in tech (compared to 61% of males) ¹

So how can schools close this gap in interest for students? 

And make sure we are inclusively encouraging students into tech (note that less females had a tech career suggested than males in the survey after all)….

Role models

Given that 78% of students in the survey couldn’t name a famous woman in tech, this shows that there is a lack of accessible female role models for students. Combatting this by identifying women working in tech now and in history who have made/are making an impact, is an excellent starting point for showcasing that women belong in tech. Additionally, this will challenge any stereotypes students may have about who can work in technology. It’s hard to ‘be what you can’t see’ ² as Lauren Forbes, InnovateHer, shared when I interviewed her for a podcast episode about empowering women in the workplace – and she’s spot on. 

You can also take this further with role models within the school community including staff members. For example, Caroline Spalding shared the impact of the staff role models they have in school on both uptake and academic performance in tech subjects in this Bluesky thread below. ³

Careers talks

One crucial aspect of getting any young person interested in a career in tech is to show them the wealth of different opportunities within it. When hearing about tech careers, it’s common for students to have specific notions of what a career in tech looks like or involves because they haven’t had the experience beyond this. Organisations, such as InnovateHer, deliver careers talks through their ambassadors (I’m proud to be one of them) where they showcase different careers in technology through the voice of someone who works in the industry. For example, they have a specific sports tech careers presentation which talks about the many interesting ways that technology can enhance sports, something that typically a student wouldn’t think of when asked if they would like to work in tech. Giving students different ideas might just spark an interest of theirs that they didn’t know could link to tech. 

This also links to our previous point: if you have the talks delivered by those in the industry, you also fill that role model void. You could, for example, ask if local companies would be willing to have employees come and talk to your students about their careers. It doesn’t have to be a tech company either, many companies will have tech roles within them. 

Pathways

Talking about careers is all well and good but how do students get there? Perhaps some of your students are put off because they think they have to get a computer science degree for the job they are interested in when actually an apprenticeship could be an alternative option for them. Understanding the pathways to reach their goals is an important part of helping students take steps towards them or consider something they perhaps initially thought was unreachable. Plus, it’s good for them to know that not all tech roles are super ‘technical’, different skills and experience benefit different careers. Working in other industries can bring valuable experience to the tech space, there’s lots of transferrable skills in any role, so this is another good point to mention when discussing different pathways into tech careers. 

Purposeful and engaging tech

If you want any student to take an interest in tech, making it purposeful and engaging is a great start. For example, Lindsay shared about how her school visited an event called STEMFest, which had lots of exciting tech activities while showcasing different careers and opportunities, and showing positive representation in STEM. This is a great combination of giving tech purpose (understanding how it’s useful) but also showing that it can be fun too! Consider how you can weave tech across the curriculum so pupils can see how it can integrate and enhance other subjects. They will start to understand more about how it can be useful in different contexts. 

Challenging stereotypes

Following the above steps certainly helps challenge stereotypes but you also need to tackle these head on. For example, when I was teaching, a boy in my primary school class said “Girls can’t play football.” So we held a circle time where we talked about women’s football and I shared some female footballers and their experiences in the sport. I also made a conscious effort to showcase different genders in different careers i.e. female doctors and male nurses, again pushing against misconceptions and stereotypes. While this example wasn’t about tech specifically, the premise is the same – address misconceptions and challenge stereotypes when they occur. 

What are the barriers to closing the gap?

The gap in tech itself

It’s hard for female students to aspire to work in tech when they can see the gap is there, that there are barriers, that there is unequal pay and unequal promotional opportunities. We can’t and shouldn’t pretend these gaps and issues don’t exist. Shell on Bluesky shared, “We have to be honest about that to equip them, not make it into some career utopia…” She also mentioned ‘showing pathways that aren’t code’ which links in with earlier steps for schools around sharing pathways into tech and providing career talks.  ³

However, schools can encourage all students to be part of the change, and help by providing inclusive education that provides all students with the skills, confidence and understanding to take their next steps into the world of work or further education so that we can keep moving the needle in the world of tech and other industries with gaps that need to be closed.

Lack of time and not seen as important

The curriculum is jam-packed. There’s pressure for students to meet academic targets, and to check off national curriculum requirements. Maybe your performance reviews even have data-related targets you have to meet. With that in mind, where could you possibly fit it in? Not to mention the fact it’s not exactly highlighted as crucial curriculum content to deliver. 

But it is something worth making time for. Whether pupils are interested in a tech career or not, technology is something that they will be using in their careers and their day-to-day lives as adults. It’s all around us, it’s not going anywhere and there are aspects of it in pretty much every role now. So there are essential skills that they need in tech to help them in many jobs of the future. 

Careers education is vital. Every young person should get to understand the opportunities out there, the pathways to reach their goals and what skills and experience can help them along the way. Whether you have a careers day, assembly or mention it in circle times – mention it, get role models involved, challenge stereotypes and really look at your curriculum – find ways to weave in technology. 

Resources

When I reached out on Bluesky  and X for good examples of encouraging more female students to take an interest in tech careers, there were some excellent resources shared. I also have a few I would like to share (this will help with that lack of time aspect too, if it’s already there you don’t need to create it!) There are also some interesting reports in here that are worth a read.  

• STEM London   
• National Centre for Computing Education: I Belong 
• Inspiring Girls UK 
• Technology Books for children
• STEM Cymru
• InnovateHer – When I Grow Up
• Institute of Physics – Improving gender balance 
• Technocamps 
• InnovateHer
• Global Equality Collective ^3.4

Thank you to all who shared their thoughts and resource suggestions on social media.  

References

1. pwc – Time to close the gender gap
2. Corporate Insights with NetSupport- Empowering women in the workplace 
3. Kat Cauchi’s thread on Bluesky
4. Kat Cauchi’s thread on X

The author

Kat Cauchi

Kat Cauchi is the community engagement manager at NetSupport, the editor of R.I.S.E. Magazine and the host of the Her Tech Life podcast. Kat is a 2023 We Are Tech Women #TechWomen100 award winner and a Nexus Education 2022 Classroom and Curriculum Improvement award winner. She is the Chair of the BESA Women’s Educational Suppliers Network, an Innovate Her ambassador and a Technocamps Girls in STEM role model. Kat is a former primary school teacher who is passionate about education, closing gaps and creating inclusive communities where everyone can thrive; which is why she is a proud member of the GEC circle. Outside of work you’ll often find Kat hanging upside down in an aerial hoop, baking cakes or spending time with senior cat, Buster. She also enjoys travel and her favourite place to visit is Japan.

https://www.riseedumag.com