Girl Geek Academy calls on government to urgently fix systematic gender equality issues in tech industry

With gender inequality rampant in STEM industries, especially tech, Girl Geek Academy is calling on the government to “fix the system, not the girls” by increasing investment in addressing the systemic issues.

The advocates for women and girls in STEM have submitted a major contribution to the “Diversity in STEM review: Let’s talk solutions” with a clear call for systemic change.

“We believe that the focus of addressing the lack of gender diversity in STEM has been wrong,” said Sarah Moran, CEO of Girl Geek Academy.

“It’s not about ‘fixing’ the girls and women; it’s about fixing the system that works to exclude them and continues to push them out. Too much attention has been on analysing how or why women exclude themselves rather than looking at how STEM education and industries block their progress.”

In a survey of over 300 ‘Girl Geeks’– girls and women already interested and engaged in STEM, especially technology, the academy found an overwhelming number of participants sharing examples of gender discrimination, unconscious bias, and sexual harassment within the technology industry.

Their findings come as women continue to make up just over a third (36%) of enrolments in university STEM courses, according to the 2022 state of STEM gender equity monitor, with just 23% of senior management and 8% of CEOs in STEM-qualified industries being women.

And on average, women continue to earn 18% less than men across all STEM industries as found in the 2022 State of Australian Startup Funding report.

The academy calls the inequality a “widespread, systemic pattern” and notes that most survey participants voiced their frustration at the lack of action and called for meaningful investment to drive change.

“The reason gender equity is going backward in tech is not due to a lack of evaluation of equity programs, but a lack of investment in solutions that we know work,” said Moran. “We need more women-designed, women-centred and women-run affirmative action programs, such as Girl Geek Academy. It’s time to stop talking and start taking action backed by substantial investment.”

In 2019, the Australian Government commissioned a Decadal Plan. According to Girl Geek Academy, despite providing a substantive roadmap for gender equity in STEM, the document lacked commitment, coordination, and investment.

The Academy’s report includes 16 key recommendations to the year-long Diversity in STEM review, launched by The Hon Ed Husic MP, Minister for Industry and Science.

There are a number of recommendations that don’t call for more money, such as ensuring government subsidies to the technology industry include gender equality reporting requirements.

A focus on fixing how the current systems fail women is included in much of the report. As is making sure government procurement and grant allocations aren’t further perpetuating gender inequality in tech.

“Solutions need to include direct interventions aimed at changing poor attitudes and behaviours, as well as the risk of gendered violence. But it also needs to focus on lifting women up in ways that ensure they are receiving equal benefit from the digital boom. Retaining the talent and genius of Girl Geeks is a matter of national economic importance,” Moran said.

The Academy is asking for the government to encourage behavioural change in the tech industry by requiring commitment to gender equality action before Ministerial visits, attendance at events or other forms of government endorsement or support.

Recommendations also include encouraging students to study Technology in Years 11 and 12 by offering bonus points for completing Digital and other Technology Subjects and applying for Technology related courses at university, with similar scaling/weighting to Physics and Extension Maths.

And the Academy wants a gender equity jobs guarantee in the tech sector to ensure the 1.2 million jobs created in the industry are gender equal.

“Until now, we have expected Girl Geeks to be ‘more resilient’ or learn to ‘act like the boys’ or to ‘speak up and make change’ in order to make it in a STEM career,” said Moran. “But placing the burden on individual women at individual worksites to change things is neither fair nor productive.”

“The time for reviews and discussions is over. Our economy, our future, cannot afford it. It’s time to fix the system, not the girls.”

This article was first published by Women’s Agenda.