Funny what you come across ....

It's funny what you come across when you are looking (or just cruising the Internet) for something totally different.

I cam across this infographic - aren't they so much better than a traditional graph - here. The actual site - http://www.transportationyou.org/ - has lots of good STEM material for girls (and I love the pink and lime green colour scheme!) The US seems to recognise the issue with girls and STEM (not sure NZ does yet!)

Anyway, a couple of things struck me when reading this .... first STEM girls have had both strong exposure to STEM fields and have had a greater parental role in their education then non-STEM girls. The immediate question is then (and this is relevant to many low decile areas), how do we develop greater exposure and greater parent involvement? 

Another thing, even though 74% are interested in STEM - only 13% would make it a first career choice! Maybe because of gender barriers they believe are present - 57% believe they would have to work harder to be taken seriously in STEM than the boys! A challenge here for STEM companies to change their image.