Longstanding workforce shortages in science, technology, engineering and maths (Stem) are exacerbated by a lack of female talent coming through. The latest survey from iWish, a programme aiming to increase female participation in Stem subjects, shows three in five teenage girls in Ireland believe gender inequality is the biggest barrier preventing them from pursuing careers in the sector.
Employers of choice are working overtime to change that. “Within our organisation we are very focused on meeting our gender balance ambitions. Our goal is to achieve gender parity at the vice-president level and above by 2025,” says Rose Kidd, president, operations delivery, at leading global clinical research organisation ICON where, as of April 2024, 48 per cent of executives at vice-president level and above were women.
ICON provides outsourced development and commercialisation services to pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical-device sectors, as well as government and public health organisations. The company is a global success story: having started with five people in 1990 in Ireland, today it employs more than 42,000 people in more than 50 countries. And all along the way, it has worked to achieve gender balance.
“This focus on building a strong pipeline of female leadership, and indeed diverse leaders overall, is something that we drive consistently,” says Kidd.
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That includes ICON’s intensive senior leadership development programme, participation in which is typically 70 per cent female.
In the United States it partners with Black Women in Clinical Research, an organisation that raises awareness among black women about careers in the clinical research field. “We are also global members of the Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association, which provides access to global mentoring programmes, networking and learning events,” says Kidd.
“These initiatives are important and show that progress can be made. Sustained investment and focus by organisations are so important in continuing the momentum.”
The iWish survey also found that 33 per cent of teenage girls say stereotypes, such as the belief that boys are inherently better at maths, engineering or technology, continue to discourage girls from entering Stem fields.
“I do believe that progress has been made but there is clearly still a way to go in terms of communicating the valuable and rewarding careers that are available to everyone in the life sciences industry, and in Stem careers overall,” says Kidd.
Chris Collins, country president Ireland at Schneider Electric, believes more work is needed to encourage girls and young women into Stem subjects through schools, apprenticeships and colleges; having women and male role models at every juncture is a key part in driving this, he says.
“Having men involved as part of the solution is also crucial,” he points out. “For example, my male colleagues at Schneider Electric constantly offer support and advocacy for women in our business, while drawing attention to the disparity and gender gap that we are addressing together.”
Diversity and inclusion generally are high on the agenda for the business. “We’re committed to building a culture at Schneider Electric that empowers everyone to make a difference, where everyone feels valued and respected,” says Collins.
The underrepresentation of female talent means we are missing proportionate contributions from half the population in Ireland, a considerable loss of knowledge, as Baolin Liang, public affairs manager at Huawei Ireland, points out.
“As a tech company, Huawei is committed to improving women’s participation in and contribution to the tech sector and the digital economy at large,” she says. “Within the company, Huawei has been enhancing diversity and ensuring equality in recruitment, promoting women in leadership roles at all levels, providing career and family support to employees, and nurturing an open, inclusive, and secure corporate culture.”
Huawei’s dedicated talent development initiative for women in Europe, the European Leadership Academy, aims to close the gender gap by equipping women with the skills they need to play an active role in the digital future.
Huawei Ireland has also developed the Tech4Her scholarship programme in collaboration with three Irish universities, offering a total of €240,000 in financial awards benefiting eligible female students studying Stem subjects. It is also working on projects with girls at secondary level.
“With the existing imbalance and lack of female talents in the Stem sector, much more work is required from all spheres of society,” says Liang. “We also look forward to more in-depth cooperation with the ecosystem and academia to extend our efforts.”
