Manchester, UK, 2016-Mar-03
Fran Scott in action
In keeping with this year’s IWD campaign theme #PledgeForParity, Siemens and BBC presenter and scientist Fran Scott have created an original live stage show to launch SeeWomen. The show has been designed especially for young girls, to place the spotlight on modern STEM female role models in Siemens and beyond. Year 9 girls from both state and secondary schools in the surrounding area have been invited to attend the launch event at Withington.
SeeWomen is one of many resources for education available through Siemens Education
(www.siemens.co.uk/education), along with the Curiosity Project, a three-year engagement programme designed to engage young people in considering a STEM career. The UK has a strong heritage in engineering but not enough young people are choosing a STEM study path that could lead to becoming an engineer. There is now a huge skills gap and by 2022 the UK will need an additional 1.82 million people with engineering skills.
Maria Ferraro, Chief Financial Officer at Siemens plc, who will officially launch the SeeWomen project on 8 March, believes that Siemens’ work in STEM education will help to address the critical gender imbalance and the risk of having too few qualified engineers.
“Siemens’ support for SeeWomen is a positive drive to show young girls that women make great engineers and scientists. SeeWomen aims to bust the myth that STEM careers are difficult, boring and just for boys,” she said.
As one of the UK’s leading technology companies Siemens is committed to nurturing and building a pipeline of STEM talent to inspire a new generation of engineers and shrink the skills gap. Encouraging and fostering curiosity in young girls to think positively about their potential in STEM careers early can help challenge misconceptions about the subjects.
The interactive, curriculum-linked stage show will explore modern women’s ground breaking contributions to science, technology and engineering, taking the audience on a journey into the world of STEM with Fran Scott’s live stage demonstrations. The show is designed to provide thought-provoking activities and to help build confidence and motivate girls to set future goals and aspirations.
Fran Scott who has performed science demonstrations on the hit CBBC show, ‘Absolute Genius with Dick and Dom’, holds the project close to her heart. “I know only too well how young women can be deterred from studying STEM subjects and from achieving their full potential. We’ve worked hard to ensure this event will not only show young women the amazing career opportunities that lie out there in the STEM world, but through self-questioning and myth-dispelling tasks we’ll give them the confidence, empowerment and curiosity to pursue and ultimately achieve their professional goals,“ Fran said.
Caroline Jordan, President of the Girls’ Schools Association, said about GSA’s involvement in the project, “Girls who attend Girls’ Schools Association schools are significantly more likely to study STEM A Levels, but nevertheless they tend to pursue careers in medicine rather than engineering. So we’re delighted to be partnering with Siemens in this exciting initiative and will be inviting girls from neighbouring state and independent schools around the country to join us in learning about the many ways they can make a difference to the world through engineering and science.”
Withington Girls' School Headmistress Mrs Sue Marks said about hosting the SeeWomen launch event, “With a significant percentage of our girls opting to study STEM subjects at A-Level, and many later going on to pursue successful careers in related fields, we are delighted to have been invited to host this inaugural event. Our young women are encouraged to follow their own academic passions here, and there are no gender stereotypes - but we appreciate that not all girls have the same opportunities and we very much hope that the SeeWomen programme will help to raise awareness nationally of the wealth of wonderful options that exist in the workplace for women with backgrounds in science, technology, engineering or mathematics.”
When Withington opened its doors in 1890, its founders’ original vision was that girls should have access to the same education as boys and that the sciences should form a key part of the curriculum. “That ethos remains at the heart of our school today and we are extremely proud of our girls’ ongoing success in the STEM subjects,“ added Mrs Marks.
SeeWomen will be rolled out around the UK in collaboration with GSA. For the next phase of the project, the stage show is to be adapted for classroom-ready workshops and a series of smaller showcase presentations for girls and young women to learn more about careers in STEM. The shows will be delivered in schools around the UK by a mix of STEM ambassadors from Siemens and the GSA.
-ENDS-
Contact for journalists
Anne Keogh, Siemens plc
Tel: 01276 696312
mobile: 07808 823545
Email: anne.keogh@siemens.com
Fran Scott, Great Scott!
mobile: 07787 767128
email: fran@franscott.co.uk
Rachel Kerr, Girls School Association
mobile: 07921 685 012
email: RachelKerr@gsa.uk.com
Teresa Thomason, Withington Girls School
mobile: 07769 720534
email: teresathomason@aol.com
Follow us on Twitter at: www.twitter.com/siemens_press
Note to editors
Background - research on the gender gap in STEM
Research by education bodies such as the Kings College London ASPIRES project, show that young girls in the classroom are excited and motivated by different tasks and challenges than young boys. Girls who aspire to science and STEM-related careers tend to be highly academic and are more likely to describe themselves as ‘not girly’. We also know that traditionally, science, technology, engineering and technology industries have been dominated by men.
According to the Engineering in the UK 2015 report, the number of women taking A level physics remains low with: 23.7% of entrants in physics and 39.4% in mathematics were women in 2014. This disparity is especially prevalent in vocational routes, with just 490 (4.4%) women studying engineering apprenticeships in 2011/12 in England.
The Engineering in the UK report also cites CASE (Centre for Social and Economic Research) findings that this may be influenced by parental perceptions of engineering, with 12% of parents stating that they would like their son to become an engineer, while only 2% said the same about their daughter.
The latest statistics from WISE research shows that in 2015, women make up 14.4% of all people working in STEM occupations
About Siemens
Siemens AG (Berlin and Munich) is a global technology powerhouse that has stood for engineering excellence, innovation, quality, reliability and internationality for more than 165 years. The company is active in more than 200 countries, focusing on the areas of electrification, automation and digitalization. One of the world’s largest producers of energyefficient, resource-saving technologies, Siemens is No. 1 in offshore wind turbine construction, a leading supplier of gas and steam turbines for power generation, a major provider of power transmission solutions and a pioneer in infrastructure solutions as well as automation, drive and software solutions for industry. The company is also a leading provider of medical imaging equipment – such as computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging systems – and a leader in laboratory diagnostics as well as clinical IT. In fiscal 2015, which ended on September 30, 2015, Siemens generated revenue of €75.6 billion and net income of €7.4 billion. At the end of September 2015, the company had around 348,000 employees worldwide. Further information is available on the Internet atwww.siemens.com.
About Siemens and Curiosity Project
Siemens Education (http://www.siemens.co.uk/education/en/) is a web portal for STEM education resources, with curriculum linked key stage 2-4 teaching materials and interactive learning tools. The free to all Portal reaches millions of pupils in the classroom providing pupils, teachers and parents with a comprehensive suite of learning activities and interactive games based on real life opportunities in industry.
In June 2015, Siemens Education developed a key stage 2 girls in STEM educational resource ‘Raising Aspirations, Inspiring Futures’ in collaboration with the Personal Social Health Education (PSHE) Association to help address the low numbers of women in the UK choosing a STEM career, despite girls outperforming boys in STEM subjects. This project extends and builds on the success of the KS2 girls in STEM resource (available from www.siemens.co.uk/education).
The Curiosity Project, a three-year engagement programme designed by Siemens to bring STEM to life for young people in the UK. www.siemens.co.uk/curiosityproject
About Maria Ferraro
As the Chief Financial Officer of Siemens plc, Maria is responsible for the overall direction and leadership of Siemens’ financial and commercial matters in the UK & Ireland. Since joining Siemens in 2004, Maria has held several senior management positions in Corporate Finance at Siemens in Canada, Germany and the United States. Prior to being appointed as CFO of Siemens plc in October 2015, she held the position CFO in Siemens Canada. A designated Chartered Accountant, Maria spent her early career with Price Waterhouse Coopers and Nortel Networks, holding a variety of roles on a global level and gaining in-depth experience in European and Asian markets.
About Fran Scott
Fran Scott is the only female science presenter on Children’s BBC and holds a Masters and First Class Degree in Neuroscience. A scientist by training and an engineer at heart, Fran uses her knowledge of these subjects to explain their principles in entertaining, exciting and accurate ways often using high-impact demonstrations to prove her point. After working behind-the-scenes for many years on hit programmes such as Richard Hammond's Blast Lab, Bang Goes the Theory and Horizon, Fran then made the move to in-front of camera. She has since presented six series for Children's BBC, five series for BBC Learning Zone, and one for BBC Worldwide.
Fran has presented on Newsround, BBC Radio 4 Extra, Channel 4’s Sunday Brunch, the Today Programme, and many more, and is best known for science demonstrations on the hit CBBC show, Absolute Genius with Dick and Dom.
About the Girls’ Schools Association
The Girls’ Schools Association represents the heads of UK independent girls’ schools who are engaged in numerous partnership projects with businesses, universities and state sector schools. DfE figures show that girls who attend GSA schools are 75% more likely to take maths A Level, 70% more likely to take chemistry A Level and 2.5 times more likely to take physics A level than girls in other schools. The GSA is a member of the Independent Schools Council.
About Withington Girls’ School
Withington Girls’ School is a leading independent day school for girls aged 7 to 18 located in Fallowfield, Manchester. The school - which attracts girls from diverse backgrounds over a large catchment area - consistently produces some of the best GCSE and A Level results in the country. A £5m redevelopment programme was completed for the new academic year in September 2015 incorporating a new purpose-built Junior School building, as well as enhanced Senior School facilities including an expanded suite of three state-of-the-art Chemistry laboratories finished to university specifications.
