Making ConnectionsMary Loftus

A Wicked Problem: women in STEM?

The lack of women in STEM is a ‘Wicked Problem’

We can’t solve it - ‘solutionism’ won’t work

It is interconnected with lots of other issues and problems

But we can work together to identify strands, and build models that can integrate some of the tensions, reduce trade-offs and simplistic categorisation

We can make connections...

Rittel, Horst. "Dilemmas in a General Theory of Planning." Policy Sciences, 1973: 155-169. - See more at: http://ssir.org/articles/entry/wicked_problems_problems_worth_solving#sthash.M3UnRRju.dpuf

What are ‘Wicked Problems’?Wicked problems have no definitive formulation. The problem of poverty in Texas is grossly similar but discretely different from

poverty in Nairobi, so no practical characteristics describe "poverty."It's hard, maybe impossible, to measure or claim success with wicked problems because they bleed into one another, unlike the

boundaries of traditional design problems that can be articulated or defined.Solutions to wicked problems can be only good or bad, not true or false. There is no idealized end state to arrive at, and so

approaches to wicked problems should be tractable ways to improve a situation rather than solve it.There is no template to follow when tackling a wicked problem, although history may provide a guide. Teams that approach wicked

problems must literally make things up as they go along.There is always more than one explanation for a wicked problem, with the appropriateness of the explanation depending greatly on

the individual perspective of the designer.Every wicked problem is a symptom of another problem. The interconnected quality of socio-economic political systems illustrates

how, for example, a change in education will cause new behavior in nutrition.No mitigation strategy for a wicked problem has a definitive scientific test because humans invented wicked problems and science

exists to understand natural phenomena.Offering a "solution" to a wicked problem frequently is a "one shot" design effort because a significant intervention changes the

design space enough to minimize the ability for trial and error.Every wicked problem is unique.Designers attempting to address a wicked problem must be fully responsible for their actions.

- See more at: https://www.wickedproblems.com/1_wicked_problems.php#sthash.dB8oUPn4.dpuf

Making Connections...

Blockers for Women’s Participation - the 5 Cs

Childcare

Culture

Confidence

Cash

Candidate selection

‘Women’s Participation in Politics’ for the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice. (2009)

Making Connections - General Election 2016

22% of TDs women - up from 15%

35 women elected - up from 25

Women candidates doubled - 86 in 2011 - 163 in 2016

531800 / 24.9% of 1st preferences

Research in Europe would lead us to expect at least 3 election cycles for impact of quotas - but 7% in 1st cycle

McGing (2016)

Before Maire Geoghan-Quinn, the last woman minister was Con Markievicz

What will our grand-daughters say?

So what did *you* do about it, Granny?

Will they ask if we Were tempted tomove to Canada?

Moving to Canada?

We stayed because of Mary Robinson

Ubuntu - Ar scáth a chéile a mhaireann na daoine.

...Graça Machel

Louise Richardson Professor Anne Scott- VC Oxford

Academia

Women massively under-represented at senior level

Women do not as easily:

Display ‘Prestige Markers’

Communicate Success

‘Unless women are 100% sure they can deliver, they generally won’t commit’

http://www.irishtimes.com/news/education/women-under-represented-in-senior-university-posts-hea-finds-1.2024458http://wonkhe.com/blogs/peacock-or-perish-prestige-and-gender-in-academia/

NUI Galway

http://www.irishtimes.com/news/education/nuig-staff-recount-misogyny-and-bullying-in-workplace-culture-1.2557138 https://michelinesthreeconditions.wordpress.com/

Institutional Responses

The Report of the Working Group on Academic Career Advancement in NUI Galway

Through the Glass Ceiling - Career Progression Programme And Strategy For Female Academics And Researchers - UCC

I feel inspired, motivated and enthusiastic. My attitude has changed with regard to the limits I put on myself. I need to work on the barriers that I put up for myself career-wise. I feel like setting goals for myself, including deadlines for reaching these goals (Participant).

Made me more positive - got me to think about the joy that I get from my job and my achievements (Participant).

I haven’t been this motivated since I first qualified 10 years ago (Participant)

A Societal Issue

‘The issue of gender discrimination will not be eradicated by [any of us] acting alone. Contrary to what a very famous woman once said, there is such a thing as society. Fairness and equality cannot be presumed to exist in the society in which universities and other institutions exist. The wider societal context in which inequalities are pervasive must also inform any discussion on tackling inequality in one sector of society. The universities are more than equal to this task.’Catherine McGuinness is a retired Supreme Court judge and former senator. She was formerly chair of the Irish Universities Quality Board and was appointed chair of NUI Galway Governing Authority in May 2013

Gender Participation CS - Harvey Mudd College

Increased CS majors from 10% to 40%

Make introductory classes more accessible: Introduction to programming in Java” was rebranded “Creative approaches to problem solving in science and engineering using Python.”

Outreach to Schools

Build social glue and community into courses

Joint courses with subjects where women are already found

http://higheredtoday.org/2016/03/02/harvey-mudd-college-confronts-lack-of-female-computer-science-majors/

Maria Klawehttps://www.flickr.com/photos/abiwt/10171082024

Teaching

Primary

86% female

14% male

65% principals female

Secondary

70% female

30% male

32% per cent of principals are female

Business

34% of junior level managers are women.

14% of Irish companies have women leaders.

Half of the female workforce earns €20,000 or less a year.

The latest figures from the EU Commission show a gender pay gap of 14.4pc - increased since the start of recession.

http://www.irishtimes.com/business/just-14-of-irish-companies-have-women-leaders-1.2530744#.Vt8LSiBHVyl.twitter

Psychological Safety at work - a crucial variable?

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/13/magazine/the-2-28-16-issue.html?_r=0

Film, Theatre, TV & Radio

#WakingTheFeminists

Lian Bell

Dearbhla Walsh

Gary Hynes

Saoirse Ronan

Pat Murphy

Lelia Doolan

Lelia DoolanLelia Doolin - her experience of the Irish state was of an “obduracy and arthritis in the organisation which lacked spontaneity, lacked respect and which had no understanding of the means and the necessity of serendipity, of humour, of sensuality, of real life… very often got into a state where they were paralysed… and didn’t realise that it’s through freedom and eccentricity that real creativity and real health occurs in the nation”

Left RTE. Fired from the Abbey. Did some work in anthropology and belief systems. State is just a construction, an intellectual, conceptual arrangement which people allow to happen… simply in order to divest themselves of having to do certain things.

Woman who understands the nature of power and the nature of Authority… both humorous, and honest and honourable and wise and funny... Qualities we absolutely need to have

We resist in an adolescent way. Until we grow up, we haven’t quite worked out exactly what we should say no to and what we should assent to.

Film, Theatre, TV & Radio

In Ireland in 2015, 24% of Producers, 18% of Directors & 18% of Writers were women.

Between 2011 and 2015, 36% of Irish feature films featured a female protagonist.

On air, 28% of voices are female.

Bechdel test“The Bechdel test asks whether a work of fiction features at least two women who talk to each other about something other than a man”

Sexy Lamp Test"If you can remove a female character from your plot and replace her with a sexy lamp and your story still works"

http://www.independent.ie/life/health-wellbeing/no-shattering-the-glass-ceiling-34519461.html

Irish Women Written out of History

Alice Milligan

1916 Women

Sport

Womens’ Football

Katie Taylor

Technology

CoderDojo

InspireFest

OutBox Incubator

WITS

Your networks?

What networks are you a part of? How are they advancing equality?

Connections with other women...

Get a Mentor

Mentor Others

Open doors for others

Share stories

Celebrate success

Give & Take compliments

Elevate each other

Social Media can be a great enabler

Your connections to other women

How do you nurture connections with other women?

Connections to Family

http://www.independent.ie/life/health-wellbeing/no-shattering-the-glass-ceiling-34519461.html

Your home life

How do you connect with family/friends around equality issues?

Connections to ourselves...

Connecting to:

Our own Values....

Our own Creativity…

Figuring out who we are...

Poetry

Photography

Reading

Writing

?

How do you connect to your own creativity?

Connections to ourselves

How do we become aware of our unconscious biases?

Changing unconscious beliefs means changing patterns of thought that have been established over a lifetime and have operated outside of awareness, so changing them requires dedication and focus.

Gender Worx

Project Implicit

Understanding Prejudice

Unconscious Bias

What are your unconscious biases?

Making connections

Further Reading

Getting to grips with Unconscious Bias

#ITWomen List of Conference Speakers - Catherine Cronin

Powering economic growth: Attracting more young women into Science and Technology - Accenture

Intel Women in Technology Scholarship - Intel

Women in Technology - a hidden history Insight Computer Museum

Let’s tackle this wicked problem - together!

Thank you@marloft

WITS Election Manifesto

1. Advance women’s leadership & participation in decision making - local & national

2. End the gender pay gap and deliver decent work for women

3. Make early years education and childcare a priority

4. Strengthen social protection, training and employment supports

Organisations/Initiatives

WITS

Silicon Republic

Top 100 Women in STEM

InspireFest

Galway Google Developers

Intel Women in Technology Scholarship

Attracting more young women into Science & Technology - Accenture 2014

http://www.ista.ie/system/files/Accenture%20STEM%20Report.pdf https://www.accenture.com/ie-en/company-powering-economic-growth.aspx

The Issues (for Irish society)

Affordable quality childcare and out of school hours care for parents;

Hold a referendum to remove the 8th amendment from the Constitution to bring

an end to the hypocrisy of forcing women to travel to access abortion;

Address the unacceptably high levels of violence against women with

legislation, appropriate sanction and investment.

We need a Dail ...based on values of equality, diversity, participation and

meaningful citizen engagement: a truly democratic society.

Orla O’Connor is Director of the National Women’s Council of Ireland (NWCI). For more information, see nwci.ie.https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/opinion-a-woman-s-place-is-in-the-oireachtas-1.2564637

Reactions to Women Candidates on the doorsteps... ‘You should be at home minding the children’ - Kate O’Connell

“Oh, so you’re a gender quota candidate then?”

“A man came up to me and told me I’d look better if I put on some make-up, like in my campaign posters”

“Have you got a boyfriend?”

“Are you going to have children?”

“You look great up the poles.”

‘Wait a minute, I’ll go and get my husband.’ - Lisa Chambers

“Women can bring something very positive to politics as they tend to make it more collaborative and less combative.” - Catherine Murphyhttps://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/women-of-many-political-hues-form-one-day-coalition-1.2563769