Where Are Our Female Stem CEOs?

Schoolgirls Excel at Science Yet the Technology, Resources and Construction Industries Are Still Dominated by Men. What Will It Take to Get More Women Into Those Leadership Teams?

- Domini Stuart

At school, girls outperform boys in science and maths. A recent worldwide study of 1.6 million students also found that there are equal numbers of girls and boys in the top 10 per cent for all STEM subjects – science, technology, engineering and maths. But the corporate world paints a very different picture. In the construction and mining sectors, for example, women occupy just 10 and 11 per cent of all senior roles respectively.

Beyond any social or moral implications, there’s evidence that such lack of diversity in the leadership team can have a negative impact on a company’s bottom line. So what’s happening to all the talented, capable women who could help steer these organisations to greater success?

LACK OF TERTIARY SKILLS

It’s true that relatively few women have tertiary STEM qualifications. Universities Admissions Centre data for New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory show that, despite girls’ achievements at school and a widespread push for more women to study STEM subjects at university, the statistics have remained unchanged over the past five years. In 2018, two per cent of all offers to female applicants were for engineering courses compared with 12 per cent to males.

Chris Nielsen, Immediate Past President of Engineers Australia’s Queensland Division, sees no fundamental reason why there shouldn’t be more women in engineering in Australia and New Zealand.