It’s not news that science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) industries are still a man’s world – but how can the gender gap be closed and more women become the next leaders in STEM industries? On the 8th of March, International Women’s Day will be celebrated at Manchester’s Museum of Science and Industry by a conversational event discussing just that, accompanied by a panel of some of the most influential women in STEM today.
The event marks both International Women’s Day and British Science Week, and is a part of Wonder Woman 2018, the city-wide feminist festival commemorating the 100-year anniversary of the Representation of the People Act, which awarded some of the first women the right to vote.
Speakers include Dr Heather Williams, director of the grassroots organisation ScienceGrrl, Damon De Ionno, managing director of the innovative research agency Revealing Reality, and Dr Jessica Wade, final year PhD student at Imperial College London, member of the WISE Young Women’s Board, and the Women in Engineering Council.
Guests to the event can expect debates on why a gender gap in STEM industries still exists and how we can begin to solve it and encourage a new generation of women as leaders in STEM. There will also be an opportunity to pick the speakers’ brains through an audience Q&A.
Dr Anne-Marie Imafidon MBE, child prodigy and CEO of social enterprise Stemettes, will also be sending a virtual message to the event with a question for the panel. At just 20 years of age, Dr Imafidon received a Master’s in Mathematics and Computer Science from the University of Oxford. She is renowned for her work inspiring many women around the world.
Also included in the Wonder Woman events series is the third annual Women in Media conference, which is being held at the People’s History Museum on the 3rd and 4th March. Elsewhere, a talk from science journalist, broadcaster, and author Angela Saini will be happening on the 5th of March in University Place. Saini will discuss her latest book, Inferior, and what it means for women at the University of Manchester.
