Industry Links Addressing Gender Bias

All primary students were surveyed at Mooroopna Park Primary School. Their gender survey revealed:  

• Students see more options for males than females in STEM related occupations   
• Students have gender biases when it comes to their perceptions of jobs that would be suitable for men or women 
• Students, overall, suggested “traditional roles” for women in the nurturing fields, such as nursing, childcare and vet. Men rated more highly in traditionally male fields, such as trades, pilot and computer programmer.  

Research shows that women are underrepresented in Maths/Scientist related fields and yet Maths/Science results from educational institutions are comparable for male and female students.   

As a result of the findings, Lighthouse partnered with the school to create an industry linking program to provide students with an understanding of STEM roles and attempt to broaden their perception of job options for both males and females by giving students experiences with males and females who work in STEM related roles.