Girls are turning away from careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) due to perceptions that the jobs lack creativity and the subjects are too difficult to learn, according to a survey from Accenture.
The survey of 5,000 young people, parents and teachers in the UK found that almost half (48%) of the boys felt confident in their ability to excel at STEM subjects, but less than one-third (29%) of girls felt the same way.
The research also found gender biases in parents’ and teachers’ attitudes towards STEM. Half of parents and two-thirds of teachers surveyed admitted to believing stereotypes about girls and boys in relation to STEM. Four in 10 teachers said they believe gender biases around STEM have already been established in children by the end of primary school.
“There is no single magic bullet that is going to fix the problem, but there are a number of approaches that can be taken to encourage more girls into STEM,” said Debbie Forster, CEO at the Tech Talent Charter, a collective working to change the gender skills gap.
Here are some practical thing parents can do to help inspire their daughters to branch out into STEM subjects.