Gillian Keating
Partner, RDJ Law Firm & Co-Founder, I Wish
More than 18,000 teenage girls worldwide are to attend an event featuring leaders and advocates for equality and STEM.
The I Wish event will feature inspirational female STEM leaders and gender equality advocates, who will share their stories and experiences. Speakers will feature from some of the leading pharmaceutical, technology and engineering firms.
Educating and empowering young girls
I Wish 2023 will showcase the breadth of female talent in STEM careers in Ireland and internationally. Taking place on 28th February 2023 — 3,000 girls will attend in person at RDS Dublin, and over 15,000 girls will tune in to the live TV Style broadcast which aims to inspire, encourage and motivate young female students to pursue careers in STEM. Registration remains open for this important showcase, and schools are encouraged to sign up by visiting Registration – iWish.
It is critical that we attract more women into STEM roles, to effect real change and shape a better future. Currently, only one in four people in STEM are women.
More representation for girls and women
In the last five years, real progress has been made; however, despite evidence of improvement in girls’ awareness and understanding of STEM careers since 2016, progress towards gender equality in STEM remains low.
It’s not just an Irish issue but an EU-wide issue and an issue for all growth sectors — from healthcare to cyber security and data analytics. Following European Commission President Von Der Leyen’s State of the Union address last month, the commission adopted a proposal to make 2023 European Year of skills — “A workforce with the skills that are in demand also contributes to sustainable growth, leads to more innovation and improves companies’ competitiveness.”
It also reported that there is a low representation of women in tech-related professions and studies, with only one in six IT specialists and one in three STEM graduates being women.
Ensuring diversity in the sector
The 2030 digital compass sets the EU target that by 2030, at least 80% of all adults should have at least basic digital skills, and there should be 20 million employed ICT specialists in the EU while more women should be encouraged to take up such jobs.