Written by: on October 13, 2022Tags: Favourite Holidays, Inspiring Organisations
Not only are the gender scales unbalanced on earth, but in space too. Did you know that, according
to figures released by the UN, only 1 in 5 space industry workers are women?
Unfortunately, this number doesn’t surprise us. In schools, the most promising pathways into the space industry include topics such as ICT and Computer Science, and these topics are still heavily saturated by boys. This year, we successfully launched our inspiring assemblies. Dialling into schools across the UK wasn’t without its challenges for a small team of 11, but when we saw the feedback and enthusiasm we knew we were onto something.
Our marketing team was aware that Space Week 2022 was approaching, and with that, an idea was born. We totally needed to merge the two.
Persuading girls to take an interest in STEM isn’t an easy task – trust us, we’ve been doing it for almost 5 years! However, we have managed to deduct a pretty magical equation for success. The first part of that equation is using inspiring role models through our content, and the second part is working with innovative brands.
That’s why when Fujitsu, an international organisation with a 40 year track record of working in space, wanted to support us – we were a thousand percent in! When they proposed we use content from some of their best female talent, we were a million percent in. Equation complete.
It turns out Fujitsu are leaders when it comes to empowering women in tech, featuring consistently in The Times Top 50 Employers for Women and regularly seeing employees included in the Top 100 most influential BAME Leaders in Tech and TechWomen 100 awards.
We asked them what they had to say about their role models, diversity & inclusion and future collaboration…
“Space Week is an opportunity to inspire young people interested in space sector careers. We hope that our role models show students with ambitions of working in the industry the breadth of opportunities on offer, which go far beyond the more obvious roles associated with space exploration.
With approximately 50,000 people employed as a result of the UK’s leadership in areas such as satellite technology and applications, telecommunications, robotics and Earth observation, there is already demand for skills as wide-ranging as data science and engineering. This broad spectrum was on show in the UK Space Agency grant-funded project we delivered to improve the planning for future space debris removal missions, using AI and quantum inspired solutions.”
“We felt it was important to highlight that the people and roles involved weren’t solely from a traditional STEM background, but brought together a variety of skills and mindsets. So, we used skills from Maths, Physics and Computer Science (Quantum computing too), and also skills in Business Development, Technical Writing, Marketing, Project Management and Business Analysis.
We hope that profiling the roles of our nine female colleagues showed the 4,000+ pupils who engaged with Space Week 2022, the breadth and diversity of skills and thinking which drives an industry already supporting an incredible £360bn of wider economic activity across the UK.”
“The first thing to acknowledge is that we know we don’t have all the answers! For us, diversity and inclusion (D&I) is about creating an environment where all people can be completely themselves and succeed. To do this, D&I needs to be ingrained within every aspect of an organisation, from recruitment through to employee training and working with partners. This is why it’s important for us that we are recognised and accredited by a number of independent bodies, such as Stonewall and The Times, as a top performing employer across all areas of D&I. Our Space Week 2022 role models exemplify the way in which our employees champion diversity, with a number named in the Empower Ethnic Minority Executive List and as HERoes Champions of Women in Business.”
“This is our first event with InnovateHer, who have been great to work with! We are delighted that Space Week 2022 has engaged with so many students and raised the aspirations of a new generation of women. We look forward to seeing how we could collaborate again in the future, as we are constantly looking for ways to improve our own contribution to society.”
To stay updated with Fujitsu, their amazing initiatives and news, tap here.
Took book a free inspiring assembly, please email us at Study@InnovateHer.co.uk
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