The issue is well known: in the coming years, skills in STEM will become even more necessary, making it imperative to attract and recruit more youth to STEM study programmes; not just to increase the numbers of STEM-trained professionals, but also to increase the diversity of STEM-trained professionals. But women (and other minorities) continue to be under represented in in many STEM professions.

Persisting gender segregation across study fields is the result of a mix of social, cultural, economic and educational institutional factors. The literature highlights the role of gender socialization of boys and girls to explain their uneven distribution across study fields. Family and especially parents play a key role as they often bring up their children to conform to traditional gender roles, while the education system, teachers and peers, tend to reinforce these stereotypes, giving support to gendered choices with regard to studies and career prospects.

As part of its core mission to address the way science it’s communicated to boys and girls, Hypatia launched a call to individuals and organisations to sign and share a vision of a European society that communicates science to youth in a gender inclusive way in order to realise the full potential of girls and boys around Europe to follow STEM related careers.

The Hypatia Vision is now available on the website where it can be signed, downloaded and shared.