Today we celebrate the International Day of Women and Girls in Science established by the United Nations, an important day that aims to encourage women to take up a career in:
- Science,
- Technology,
- Engineering and
- Mathematic.
The commitment of the day goes far beyond raising awareness over the stereotypes that harm women and young girls: we want to remove the barriers that still prevent women from self-determination at a professional level.
Why don’t more girls choose STEM careers?
In Italy, only 20% of female students choose STEM faculties and, according to ValoreD4STEM survey, among female graduates only 38% of them hold a managerial position, while 59,6% of them are not even responsible for a team or a budget.
Multiple factors explain the lack of interest and presence of women in STEM areas, united by a social and cultural matrix that foster prejudices and barriers from the very beginning. For example, in Italy, STEM women have fewer opportunities to advance their careers than men.
Plus, it is hard for young girls to find inspirational role models. In particular, girls are often considered less talented for analytical topics, discouraging them from choosing these faculties.
Similarly, there is a lack of encouragement by teachers, which poses a further barrier to the development of girls' interest in STEM subjects.
According to World Economic Forum research, preventing women, directly or indirectly, from accessing STEM careers has serious consequences on the achievement of gender equality and, at the same time, it results in a huge disadvantage of the digital job market. If both genders were balanced, the annual GDP of the European Union would grow by 9 billion euros.
MESA4STEM: MESA Group's commitment to break the rules
MESA Group - MESA, PROCOMP, OVERNET and MEVB - is joining the International Day for Girls and Women in Science with a commitment that goes beyond a single day.
Over the years, the Group has encouraged the success of girls in STEM disciplines, enhancing the professionalism of its employees and, at the same, celebrating the irreplaceable uniqueness of the people that make up the MESA Group.
For the Group, it is necessary to break down the stereotypes in the technology and digital industry, realizing a vision aimed at inclusivity and diversity.
In the coming weeks, we will present the experiences of young women who began their professional journey with MESA as Data Scientists and Business Analysts. Then, we will listen to the words of OverNet teachers, who will share with us their expertise on the software development, programming languages and project management.
The Group's commitment does not stop here but goes far beyond. MESA Group has joined the Microsoft Partner Pledge with a daily commitment on multiple fronts to concretely realize the promise of having a positive impact on the future and on technology. The affirmation of girls and women in STEM is a fundamental goal for spreading diversity, sustainability, digital skills development and ethical technology.
Celebrate your value and join #MESA4STEM!
- MESA4STEM, women and girls in STEM: the value of ours Junior Analysts
- MESA4STEM: an interview with Cristina Fallarini, OverNet trainer in software engineering
- MESA4STEM: space for talent and added value of our Junior Analyst girls
- MESA4STEM, the value of being women and an Oracle trainer: Paola Sonetto
- MESA4STEM, Romina Fiorenza professor of JAVA: no more gender stereotypes, women are definitely capable of excelling in science