Celebrating
INSPIRATIONAL BUSINESS WOMEN
IN STEM 2020
Background
The UK government commissioned Alison Rose Review of Female Entrepreneurship highlighted that women entrepreneurs are underrepresented in the most productive sectors of the UK economy, and that female entrepreneurship could add a further £250bn to the UK economy.
The Review recommends that encouraging young women to study Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics i.e. STEM subjects, is key to increasing female start-up rates in those sectors.
The Review says that the UK STEM skills gap would reach 1m new professionals by 2020, if not addressed. It also suggests that such skills would assist women to improve productivity and scale up their business.
As it stands, only 24% of UK STEM roles are held by women and the country has the lowest percentage of female engineers in Europe.
It is widely accepted that the lack of visible female role models in the STEM industry contributes to the low number of females taking up STEM related careers.
This campaign, is an opportunity to identify inspirational female business owners in STEM, who can act as role models to the future generations.
Criteria
In conjunction with Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), and Natwest/RBS, this campaign seeks to identify a selection of inspirational female business owners in the STEM sector.
– Are you an inspirational business woman in STEM?
– Do you know an inspirational business woman in STEM?
– Do you/they own all or part of the business?
– Has your/their business been trading for more than 12months
All selected finalists will be showcased through various channels, and celebrated at an event in London on 11 March 2020.
KEYNOTE SPEAKER
Kelly Tolhurst MP
Member of Parliament for Rochester & Strood
Minister for Aviation, Maritime, and Security
Former Minister for Small Business
Former Entrepreneur and Woman in STEM
