Women have made enormous inroads into fields long considered male prerogatives. However, too many still bump up against the glass ceiling, or find themselves pushed off the glass cliff. This phenomenon continues to impact not only the current generation but also has implications for the next generation of women striving for success.
As if ceilings and cliffs were not enough, we can now add a plumbing metaphor to the list. In recent times we are facing the so-called ‘leaky pipeline’ to describe how women are more likely to abandon education and work in general before, and even after, receiving PhDs.
Women are making efforts to attain higher education, however, it is crucial to place a particular emphasis on enabling those women who are poised to take on leadership roles, while still face challenges in advancing their careers, especially in fields that offer better job opportunities, in particular with respect to STEM.
Women who earn degrees in STEM fields, face continued obstacles in STEM workplaces. These include challenges in achieving work-family balance, cultural stereotypes about women’s suitability for STEM work, and assumptions that women are less capable and less committed. These obstacles may push women out of high-paying careers or may prevent women from gaining access to jobs related to their STEM training. Motherhood still contributes to the ‘leaky pipeline’ through premature workplace exit, pay gaps, and their underrepresentation in leadership positions.
Fortunately, gender diversity has received significant attention in recent years. We need to take action and capitalise on our global presence to share insights, explore potential solutions, and replicate successful practices from other countries. Additionally, we should lobby to grant both regulatory and corporate welfare policies and natality support (taking the French model); advocating for the extension of a mandatory paternity leave (the Scandinavian approach); evaluating the impact of ‘pink quotas’ (imposed by the Italian legislature), checking if this actually grants women access to leadership position. By combining and analysing diverse experiences across Europe and globally, we can strive to devise a magic potion, made up of an optimal blend of strategies to foster gender equality in the workplace.
Soroptimist International of Europe (SIE) is actively promoting and supporting women and girls in pursuing STEM disciplines and careers through our SIE Scholarships programme, with a specific focus on empowering STEM candidates.
Find out more about STEM and what Soroptimist and other organisations are doing to support women in this field:
- CSW67 overview (Commission on the Status of Women 67th session)
- Zero Draft of the CSW67 Agreed Conclusions
- International Day of Education – STEM
- Leave no one offline behind