{"id":634129,"date":"2023-04-22T09:56:07","date_gmt":"2023-04-22T14:56:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.sellorbuyhomefast.com\/index.php\/2023\/04\/22\/biases-keep-dutch-girls-out-of-stem-and-it\/"},"modified":"2023-04-22T09:56:07","modified_gmt":"2023-04-22T14:56:07","slug":"biases-keep-dutch-girls-out-of-stem-and-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2023\/04\/22\/biases-keep-dutch-girls-out-of-stem-and-it\/","title":{"rendered":"Biases keep Dutch girls out of STEM and IT"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"content-header\">\n<h2>Unconscious stereotypes and bias still ensure few girls in the Netherlands choose to study engineering or IT. Government, education and businesses need to make significant steps to turn this around<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"content-center\">\n<ul>\n<li><i data-icon=\"1\"><\/i><\/li>\n<li><i data-icon=\"2\"><\/i><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div id=\"contributors-block\">\n<p><span>By<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n\t\t\t\tKim Loohuis<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\n\tPublished: <span>21 Apr 2023 14:49<\/span>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<section id=\"content-body\">\n<p>The Dutch gender diversity expertise centre for science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM), <a href=\"https:\/\/amsterdamsmartcity.com\/organisations\/vhto\">VHTO<\/a>, organised the first Girls\u2019 Day 13 years ago to introduce girls to these subjects at a young age and address the severe underrepresentation of women in the IT sector.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>This is a specific day each year on which girls aged between 10 and 15 visit companies in STEM and IT. This year, over 9,000 girls from more than 200 schools participated, visiting over 250 companies. \u201cLast year, about 6,500 girls participated, so this is a significant increase,\u201d said Sahar Yadegari, director of VHTO.<\/p>\n<p>This shows a gradual bounce back from a slump that occurred after 2020, when Girls\u2019 Day was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Before the pandemic, there were as many as 10,000 applications.<\/p>\n<section data-menu-title=\"Unconscious prejudices\">\n<h3><i data-icon=\"1\"><\/i>Unconscious prejudices<\/h3>\n<p>Not only is Girls\u2019 Day necessary to introduce more diversity in technical fields, but it also aims to reduce the acute shortage of people with a technical background, said Marieke Snoep, chief of business market at Dutch telco KPN.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn our own organisation, there are very few female mechanics, for example. We therefore find it extremely important to introduce girls and boys to a technical profession in an appealing way,\u201d said Snoep. \u201cThe interest in this starts in primary education, so it is important to motivate children at an early age and no longer make a distinction between boys and girls.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<div>\n<figure>\n    \u201cParents and schools need to become much more aware they are still conveying unconscious biases\u201d<br \/>\n   <\/figure><figcaption>\n    <strong>Sandra Wasseur, Oracle<\/strong><br \/>\n   <\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Unconscious prejudice still plays a significant role in the Netherlands, not just in education, but also among parents. Sandra Wasseur, dynamic marketer at Oracle, pointed to a study by VHTO.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis involved asking advice from education professionals about a fictitious pupil who is unsure about a technical profile. This pupil\u2019s name was sometimes Anouk and sometimes Thomas,\u201d said Wasseur. \u201cI was shocked to learn that Thomas received positive advice for a technical choice almost twice as often as Anouk. Parents and schools need to become much more aware they are still conveying unconscious biases.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section data-menu-title=\"Making IT appealing\">\n<h3><i data-icon=\"1\"><\/i>Making IT appealing\u00a0<\/h3>\n<p>Diana Smith, business development partner at IT company Kyndryl, thinks the sector\u2019s image is primarily to blame. \u201cIT still has a stuffy and nerdy image. That\u2019s why it\u2019s so important to show girls that you can actually do really cool things with it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>This is a reason for almost every participating organisation to take part in Girls\u2019 Day. For example, the girls visiting Cisco on Girls\u2019 Day this year were taken to Nike. \u201cThis way, we can show the girls what role technology plays in fashion, for example,\u201d said Hein Dekkers, director of digital acceleration in the Netherlands at Cisco.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLast year, we took a group of girls to the Rijksmuseum to show them how Rembrandt\u2019s <em>The night watch<\/em> is scanned. Showing concrete applications contributes enormously to the girls\u2019 perception.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<div>\n<figure>\n    \u201cIT still has a stuffy and nerdy image. That\u2019s why it\u2019s so important to show girls that you can actually do really cool things with it\u201d<br \/>\n   <\/figure><figcaption>\n    <strong>Diana Smith, Kyndryl<\/strong><br \/>\n   <\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Lisa Klein, a software engineer at Q42, agreed: \u201cI never set out to be a software developer, but when I was introduced to it on my communication and multimedia design course, I realised it was so much cooler than I\u2019d ever thought.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She has noticed a change in the girls who visit Q42 during Girls\u2019 Day. \u201cNot all of them, of course, because everyone has their own preferences, but I speak to a number of girls every year who tell me that they initially thought it would be very boring, but now they think it\u2019s super fun,\u201d said Klein.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section data-menu-title=\"Education must embrace digitisation\">\n<h3><i data-icon=\"1\"><\/i>Education must embrace digitisation<\/h3>\n<p>VHTO director Yadegari hopes Girls\u2019 Day will no longer exist in 10 years\u2019 time. \u201cI hope, by then, we as a society will no longer associate engineering and technology with men by default, but that it will be just as logical for girls and women to choose that direction.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>There is still a lot of work to be done to reach that situation, however.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAlthough women were initially at the forefront of IT, in 2023, only 22% of all tech jobs in Europe are filled by women, with that number in the Netherlands a shocking 17%,\u201d said Remco den Heijer, director at SAS Benelux. \u201cWe need to offer girls and women role models and start actively convincing them of the fun and interesting aspects of tech professions.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Moreover, it is also essential to familiarise teachers with technology, according to VHTO\u2019s Yadegari. \u201cEspecially in primary schools, where the majority of teachers are women who don\u2019t all feel comfortable with technology. They convey that feeling \u2013 unconsciously \u2013 to young girls. Therefore, it is crucial that both female and male teachers become comfortable with using digital technology and feel they can transfer that to their students.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<div>\n<figure>\n    \u201cWe need to offer girls and women role models and start actively convincing them of the fun and interesting aspects of tech professions\u201d<br \/>\n   <\/figure><figcaption>\n    <strong>Remco den Heijer, SAS Benelux<\/strong><br \/>\n   <\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>KPN\u2019s Snoep agreed: \u201cOur educational community views many technological developments with suspicion and fear. I want to call on everybody in education to embrace digitisation instead. Take <a href=\"https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/news\/365530593\/Is-business-ready-for-ChatGPT\">ChatGPT<\/a>, for example. Every school is terrified that students will write their papers using AI [artificial intelligence] and are trying to do everything they can to prevent or prohibit it.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut why not let your students experiment with this AI and teach them to find the mistakes made by the system? That way, it lets them learn to think for themselves about what is real and what is fake while introducing them to the possibilities of technology.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section data-menu-title=\"Call for a new government campaign\">\n<h3><i data-icon=\"1\"><\/i>Call for a new government campaign<\/h3>\n<p>There is also an essential role for the government to make technical study choices and professions more logical and attractive to girls, according to Oracle\u2019s Wasseur. \u201cWe know we are short of a huge number of people in a sector that is crucial to our future. That means we need to start at the grassroots, with young girls, and make them aware that engineering is also suitable for them,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, digital literacy has officially gained a permanent place in the Dutch curriculum. Unfortunately, it will take time before all the teaching materials are ready and it is embedded in education. Yadegari spoke on Girls\u2019 Day with primary and secondary education minister Dennis Wiersma, who was on a working visit to technical services provider Kuijpers in De Meern.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<div>\n<figure>\n    \u201cI think Girls\u2019 Day will remain necessary for a few more years, but hopefully, we can make significant strides in the coming years so that it will eventually become obsolete\u201d<br \/>\n   <\/figure><figcaption>\n    <strong>Sahar Yadegari, VHTO<\/strong><br \/>\n   <\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>\u201cThe government needs to play an accelerating role in countering gender stereotypes in engineering education,\u201d said Yadegari.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Moreover, there is also a task for the industry itself, because even in engineering and IT, stereotype communication is commonplace, although often not even consciously. \u201cThere are companies presenting themselves as \u2018move fast, break things\u2019, or using only pictures of men in almost all their communication,\u201d said Yadegari. \u201cAs an industry, we need to do much more to become more attractive to women.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>But the industry has made strides in this regard, according to Kyndryl\u2019s Smith. \u201cI have come across more and more women in technical positions in recent years. Having more women in an organisation also enhances the atmosphere for other women. So, it is not only important to attract women, but it can also help you retain your female talent,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>Asked about their ideal image in 10 years\u2019 time, almost all organisations were unanimous: an equal distribution of men and women in the workplace and in technical professions.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Yadegari shares this ambition. \u201cI think Girls\u2019 Day will certainly remain necessary for a few more years, but hopefully, we can make significant strides, both in government and in the education and technology sectors, in the coming years so that it will eventually become obsolete.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n<section id=\"DigDeeperSplash\">\n<h4>\n\t\t\t<i data-icon=\"m\"><\/i>Read more on IT education and training<\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li><a id=\"DigDeeperItem-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/news\/365531034\/More-than-30-girls-in-tech-dont-become-tech-undergrads\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.ttgtmedia.com\/visuals\/ComputerWeekly\/Hero Images\/Women-business-diversity-5-adobe_searchsitetablet_520X173.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.ttgtmedia.com\/visuals\/ComputerWeekly\/Hero%20Images\/Women-business-diversity-5-adobe_searchsitetablet_520X173.jpg 960w,https:\/\/cdn.ttgtmedia.com\/visuals\/ComputerWeekly\/Hero%20Images\/Women-business-diversity-5-adobe.jpg 1280w\" alt ><\/p>\n<h5>More than 30% of girls in tech don\u2019t become tech undergrads<\/h5>\n<div>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.ttgtmedia.com\/rms\/computerweekly\/Clare-Ellen-McDonald-140px.jpg\" alt=\"ClareMcDonald\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p><span>By: <span>Clare\u00a0McDonald<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a id=\"DigDeeperItem-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/blog\/WITsend\/Here-come-the-girls-why-quashing-STEM-biases-starts-at-school\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.ttgtmedia.com\/visuals\/digdeeper\/2.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.ttgtmedia.com\/visuals\/digdeeper\/2_searchsitetablet_520X173.jpg 960w,https:\/\/cdn.ttgtmedia.com\/visuals\/digdeeper\/2.jpg 1280w\" alt ><\/p>\n<h5>Here come the girls: why quashing STEM biases starts at school<\/h5>\n<div>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.ttgtmedia.com\/rms\/computerweekly\/Clare-Ellen-McDonald-140px.jpg\" alt=\"ClareMcDonald\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p><span>By: <span>Clare\u00a0McDonald<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a id=\"DigDeeperItem-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/news\/252521290\/STC-meeting-highlights-the-importance-of-role-models-in-encouraging-STEM-diversity\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.ttgtmedia.com\/visuals\/German\/article\/machine-learning-2-adobe_searchsitetablet_520X173.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.ttgtmedia.com\/visuals\/German\/article\/machine-learning-2-adobe_searchsitetablet_520X173.jpg 960w,https:\/\/cdn.ttgtmedia.com\/visuals\/German\/article\/machine-learning-2-adobe.jpg 1280w\" alt ><\/p>\n<h5>STC meeting highlights the importance of role models in encouraging STEM diversity<\/h5>\n<div>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.ttgtmedia.com\/rms\/computerweekly\/Clare-Ellen-McDonald-140px.jpg\" alt=\"ClareMcDonald\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p><span>By: <span>Clare\u00a0McDonald<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a id=\"DigDeeperItem-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/news\/252513679\/Dutch-girls-in-STEM-held-back-by-persistent-gender-bias\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.ttgtmedia.com\/visuals\/ComputerWeekly\/Hero Images\/teens-girls-phone-laptop-tech-adobe_searchsitetablet_520X173.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.ttgtmedia.com\/visuals\/ComputerWeekly\/Hero%20Images\/teens-girls-phone-laptop-tech-adobe_searchsitetablet_520X173.jpg 960w,https:\/\/cdn.ttgtmedia.com\/visuals\/ComputerWeekly\/Hero%20Images\/teens-girls-phone-laptop-tech-adobe.jpeg 1280w\" alt ><\/p>\n<h5>Dutch girls in STEM held back by persistent gender bias<\/h5>\n<p>\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/news\/365535622\/Biases-keep-Dutch-girls-out-of-STEM-and-IT\" class=\"button purchase\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Read More<\/a><br \/>\n Tama Mischke<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Unconscious stereotypes and bias still ensure few girls in the Netherlands choose to study engineering or IT. Government, education and businesses need to make significant steps to turn this around By Kim Loohuis Published: 21 Apr 2023 14:49 The Dutch gender diversity expertise centre for science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM), VHTO, organised the first<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":634130,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[121870,22995,46],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-634129","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-biases","8":"category-dutch","9":"category-technology"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/634129","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=634129"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/634129\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/634130"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=634129"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=634129"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=634129"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}