Inova Consultancy is excited to announce that we will be delivering a programme to support women’s employability in the STEM sector by developing their self-efficacy and soft skills through online learning and a series of live webinars thanks to the generous funding from the British Council México/Perú.
STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) environments may subject women to stereotyping and such environments may embody ‘hostile sexism, protective paternalism, or complementary gender differentiation’ (Kuchynka, Salomon, Bosson, El-Hout, Kiebel, Cooperman and Toomey, 2018 p77) which may negatively impact on the working life of female workers. Therefore, understandably in STEM environments supportive action for self-efficacy could be crucial in developing resilience, goal-directed behaviour and an enhanced ability to meet and deal with challenges.
Only 30% of researchers worldwide are women (World Economic Forum, 2020) and only 30% of all female students select STEM-related subjects. Female engagement is particularly low in ICT (3%), natural sciences, mathematics and statistics (5%) and engineering and as Inova currently holds the Presidency of the European Association of Women in Science, Engineering and Technology, we are delighted to be working on this initiative.
We will be researching the barriers affecting women in STEM and will bring in research, practical solutions, what works in aiding career paths and educate mentors about this.
How will we deliver this initiative to women in México and Perú?
– Inova’s qualified and experienced coaches will deliver several hours of online training content to support the development of mentoring skills to develop women in STEM, based on our extensive knowledge of both mentoring and coaching methodologies and supporting women in non-traditional fields.
– We will be developing and delivering Virtual Live Training sessions for women in science in México, supporting the development of self-efficacy, knowledge of the gender gap and why it is important and developing mentoring knowledge.
– We will be developing and delivering Virtual Live Training sessions for men and women senior scientists and researchers, to develop a group of future mentors in Perú.
– We will deliver a live World Café to join STEM participants from the UK, Perú and México to develop further networks and knowledge
We can’t wait to share more updates from this great new initiative in the upcoming weeks!
by Eric Wijmenga
Co-Director/Finance Manager
Eric is Inova’s Co-Director and Finance Manager. He is also the founder and director of our subsidiary Inova Education, an educational marketing and recruitment agency, established in 1996 and working across LATAM. Inova Education delivers services in partnership with UK HEIs, British embassies, national funding bodies, the British Council and Chevening teams across LATAM.