Diversity in STEM Review: let's talk solutions

STEM diversity is about being completely inclusive and opening up all career options to all those who are interested in doing something. Its about breaking down the stereotypes and creating a greater awareness of non mainstream science careers. For Example, with the increase in digital and cyber careers there are a new wave of careers that have very technical names but young people are oblivious to what day to to day work looks like. How will we ever be able to entice people into careers that they are completely unaware of?
As a STEM professional in a niche career with limited job opportunities in my main field I like being able to educate people on other career paths to get to their main goal which still add value and provide them experience. As a mum I want my kids to have all the available and relevant information for them to make informed decisions about their own careers.

When I first decided to study my Forensic degree at Uni, my future career choice was not open to civilians. Rather to become a crime scene investigator you needed to be a sworn police officer which is something I knew I did not want to do. 4 years later and the landscape changed with civilian employees being accepted into the role especially given the increased number of specialised university degrees starting up. It makes me wonder now what other careers now arent supported by the education that prefaces them. This creates barriers that are unnecessary. For me this was not about picking and choosing the parts of a job role that I wanted to do. It was about being forced to do a job that I didnt want to do in order to get to the end result. In my case I did not want to do general duties policing at all or want to carry and train using a gun. This wasnt required as part of my forensic duties that I ultimately wanted to do.

I think there is a big assumption (and probably reality) that STEM and science careers are underpaid which is a turn off for many/\. Possibly also why parents dont promote or support science study. Stereotypically a scientist is man in a white coat. The reality of this is completely incorrect but it is also similar to how we view other careers like doctors and nurses.

STEM Organisation - People dont think of STEM organisations rather science or research organisations like CSIRO or ANSTO. I dont think people see engineering or even maths careers in computing as science based careers. I think programs like Superstars of Stem (that showcases many different STEM careers) are vitally important. Being in a STEM career for 20+ years why at 43 yrs old was the first time I became aware of the program? Maybe this is something that should be assigned value at a much younger age where younger generations can aspire to be future amazing scientists for our country.

Power & Control - I think this starts at the early education centres (0-5Yrs) and goes through primary school and then high school. By University age people have already decided what they like/dont like or what their opinion is of future careers. We need to change the stereotypes and curriculum at the younger age groups and highlight what new and emerging careers in STEM look like. Shifting the culture may include a shift in the protagonist in kids books. I look at my own career in forensics and there is not one set of primary school age novels about this topic (let alone the many careers that are linked to this) as interesting as it could be for kids. For slightly older children channelling their obsession with You tube and the internet for good. For my own kids I have said I will support them with a you tube channel as long as its educational. For me this will teach them soft skills in communication, different research methods, whilst also helping them learn about digital media.

If we dont solve this problem in Australia we will continually be looking at other nations to innovate and be totally reliant on others. This is never a safe place to be positioned and the covid pandemic was an excellent example of this.

This review can help by opening up the discussion about the STEM crisis here in Australia and what a bleak future it looks like if we dont become self sufficient. I think there is also an opportunity to highlight credible and authentic research about all aspects of STEM research and debunk some myths (i.e that STEM are always unpaid).

Yes, I am a SuperStar of STEM but only found out about the program at 43yrs old. It should be like this. Awareness of amazing people in STEM should be done at a much younger age in order to create systemic change. Also in the current crisis this needs to be supported at the highest levels of government. It cant be out on the individual or their employer to pay for the fee to participate in this particular program. Its great the program has a focus on high school students but it should equally have value placed on the primary school age groups.

There needs to be more programs like this. Perhaps a tiered approach with different outcomes and focus. I.e SuperStars of STEM is focussed on Communication training and becoming a Science communicator. This isnt for everybody though and I think equally other formats could entice other STEM professionals to apply.