Students from two Shepparton schools will make their way to Melbourne for Go Girl, Go For IT, Australia’s largest tech conference for school-aged girls, which aims to inspire female students to consider a career in science and technology.
Students from ACE Secondary College and the Greater Shepparton Secondary College will attend the conference on August 18.
Hosted by not-for-profit organisation Vic ICT For Women at Deakin University’s Burwood campus, the full-day conference will introduce female students from Grade 5 to Year 12 to what a career in STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics) would entail.
Students will participate in workshops, get their hands on the latest cutting-edge gadgets, including robots, virtual reality and 3D printing, learn about the varied career options in STEAM and hear from female role models in their fields.
Women made up fewer than 25 per cent of students studying STEAM in 2019, despite diversity and gender equity being crucial to the capacity of STEAM to drive productivity growth and economic recovery post-COVID-19.
There is also poor retention of women in STEAM positions, with just 29 per cent of the total qualified STEAM workforce being made up of women, and just 13 per cent of executive positions.
Go Girl, Go For IT managing director Jessica Huynh said it was a way to get young women and girls excited about fields they might have considered too male-dominated.
“We will be delivering a showcase of STEAM careers designed to put stars in their eyes,” she said.
“We need to help overcome stereotypes and misconceptions because research has shown that girls as young as 11 years old decide what they're good and bad at.
“Go Girl, Go For IT, specifically focuses on that age group to help them understand all the possibilities a STEAM career can give them.”