On Tuesday 8th March, we will celebrate ITWales’ 22nd International Women’s Day event. The gala dinner will showcase the work that is being done in Wales to encourage girls into STEM.

Join us as we celebrate Women in STEM and our partnerships over the past year. The annual ITWales International Women’s Day Celebration provides an insight into the diverse range of business and career opportunities for women in the 21st Century. It offers a platform for sharing experiences, knowledge, and best practice for women, particularly those working within science and technology.

The theme for this year’s event is For the Girls. The event will showcase the work being done by business, charities and projects across the country to encourage girls to study and work in the STEM industries. We welcome all women and allies!

International Women’s Day is a global day celebrating the economic, political and social achievements of women past, present and future. Annually, thousands of events are held throughout the world to inspire women and celebrate achievements. A global web of rich and diverse local activity connects women from all around the world including political rallies, business conferences, government activities and networking events. We hope you are able to join us for an evening that promises to entertain, motivate and inspire.

The event will be hosted by Kevin Johns MBE and there will be a series of talks from organisations in Wales on their work to encourage girls into STEM:

The Intellectual Property Office (IPO) wants to be a brilliant place to work, and their culture is built on fairness and opportunity for all. They are passionate about supporting under-represented groups and in particular, increasing the number of women in STEM. They work with Code First Girls (a Not for Profit Social Enterprise) to help promote gender diversity and female participation in the technology sector, they offer IT training and courses to women of all backgrounds. Among a range of additional measures, they have also developed their own STEM Returners programme, developed more inclusive branding and are working to identify and remove any unintended barriers to inclusivity within their systems, culture and processes. They believe that everyone has the potential to make a difference.

An important focus for Bridgend College is increasing the number of girls that enrol on courses in STEM. From the design of the new STEAM Academy, to the development of the curriculum, through to extra-curricula activities and outreach events to schools, they focus on how to widen participation and make studying STEM subjects in a FE setting engaging and enabling.

EESW operates to show young people how valuable a career in engineering can be, by bringing students and industry together for the benefit of all those involved and the future prosperity of the Welsh Economy. Through the STEM Cymru 2 Project, EESW recognises the importance of encouraging equal opportunities in STEM, and the need to inspire and nurture young females to ensure a balanced future workforce. Their Girls into STEM programme of events aims to encourage pupils to take an active interest in STEM subjects prior to their GCSE subject choices by giving them the opportunity to spend the day at a local Engineering company or University department. Over 15,000 young females have taken part in their programmes since 2015, and they hope to continue challenging stereotypes and promoting equal opportunities to students across Wales.

The HOW People have created a digital platform offering courses, workshops, mentoring and community for parents, schools and young people. Offering a ‘tool box’ of skills and habits to manage the teenage years in an increasingly digital world and delivering this in fun, engaging, interactive sessions. Their flagship product is a digital community of teenage girls meeting weekly to hear from experts and role models. STEM has featured heavily in their programme with the girls meeting scientists and engineers from the UK and the USA on their Zoom calls in 2021.

STEM Gogledd is a project working in North West Wales to inspire 11-19 year olds to continue to learn and follow a STEM Career. They are working with girls to show them what opportunities there are for them within STEM. They also have STEM Mentors working in schools giving out information and advice and organising inspiring events.