Building on our longstanding commitment to support women in STEM, Science & Technology Australia has formally signed on to the APEC Women in STEM Principles.
And our Chief Executive Officer addressed an APEC Policy Partnership on Science, Technology & Innovation forum overnight on the impact of COVID-19 on equity, diversity and inclusion.
The APEC Women in STEM principles and actions invite Governments and organisations to support greater representation of women in science, technology, engineering and maths.
Australia is represented on the APEC PPSTI by the Australian Government Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources, who worked closely with other member economies to develop the APEC Women in STEM principles.
STA has had a longstanding commitment to support initiatives to make inroads on the under-representation of women in STEM.
This includes through our acclaimed Superstars of STEM program - supported by the Australian Government - to enhance the visibility of women in STEM to inspire more young women and girls into STEM study and careers.
Science & Technology Australia Chief Executive Officer Misha Schubert presented on a panel to a virtual APEC forum overnight.
She shared the Rapid Research Information Forum report on women in the STEM workforce, and highlighted the role of data to ensure crucial equity gains are not lost during the pandemic.
"The early evidence certainly suggests the hard-won equity gains of many years are at risk during the pandemic, so it is even more important that we all work together to hold those gains."
"Seeking data on the impact of the pandemic on equity, diversity and inclusion can help policy-makers and STEM employers protect the gains we've all worked so hard to make."
"This formal step of signing on to the APEC principles builds on STA's long commitment to action to redress the under-representation of women in STEM," she said.
The panel was chaired by Chile's Mr Rodrigo Perez. Speakers included Ms Staci Rijal from the US Government's Office of Science & Technology Cooperation, and Ms Karine Morin from the Canadian Government's Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council.
