Home » From Bracco to Aspi, frontline companies to bring girls closer to Stem subjects

From Bracco to Aspi, frontline companies to bring girls closer to Stem subjects

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Science and technology subjects excite and intrigue 54% of teenagers at school. To say this is the latest research carried out by Ipsos for Save the Children which, on the occasion of the International Day for Women and Girls in Science 2022, underlines how it is necessary to encourage the participation of girls in the scientific world so that they are not only beneficiaries, but also agents of change. In 2021, university enrollments in Italy recorded an increase in women enrolled in the Stem faculties (science, technology, engineering and mathematics), in particular in information technology and information and communication technologies (Itc) with a + 15.74%. The girls who choose science courses are 22% of the total enrolled.

The Ipsos research shows that girls think they can make a concrete contribution to the great challenges of the future, such as the aging of the population (34%), the production of sustainable energy (31%) and the reduction of polluting emissions from means of transport. (27%). “The acquisition of full ‘scientific citizenship’ is considered by many today as a fundamental right to respond to environmental and health challenges. However, the gender gap is very present and is rooted, from the earliest cycles of education, in the stereotypes, still widespread today, that girls would have little inclination towards scientific subjects and that block their talents in the bud “, says Raffaela Milano Director of Save the Children’s Italy-Europe Programs.

The Minister of University and Research, Maria Cristina Messa indicated two measures to support women in the fight against gender inequalities in education and work, namely more scholarships for Stem girls and mobility support. “We have implemented a series of encouragement and incentive measures for girls to enroll in Stem degrees – recalled the minister – a measure implemented by increasing scholarships for the most capable and deserving, in particular with an increase 20% on scholarships for women who are writing to Stem degrees “. As for prejudices, the minister explained, the weight of the family on women’s choices is often very great, women are not always able to pursue the possibilities outside their city: “Unfortunately, in many cases, there are still differences between degree of male and female ». The scholarship mechanism is valid according to Mass to counter these problems too, “because they are also an important measure for those who do not live in large cities. We have also invested nearly a billion in student residences. One part has already been banned, the other half will be banned by the end of the year. Measures that seek to promote mobility and which should also facilitate young girls ”. This day “was a fundamental intuition to define one of the main challenges we have in the time that awaits us: investing in education, training and enhancement of women also in the scientific field, increasing the skills for girls and removing any barrier or stereotype which unfortunately still exists today and which induces too many girls not to choose science subjects because they think they are not suitable », is the vision of the Minister for Equal Opportunities and the Family, Elena Bonetti.

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For a long time now, companies have started projects on these issues to sensitize young people, right from primary school, to approach science, technology, engineering and mathematics. “No country can do without the contribution of women. For this reason, in every field, we must invest in female potential, engaging in the fight against all types of conditioning and discrimination “, says Diana Bracco, an entrepreneur who has carried out numerous projects with the Bracco Foundation and has become a ‘champion’ of empowerment. female. “Everyone must also commit to the fight against stereotypes, especially in Italy where cultural resistance is more rooted: in society, in companies and in families themselves. Equal opportunities and rights must in fact be achieved at the same time in various areas: from education to training, from employment to support for entrepreneurship, from credit to women to the balance between family and work commitments, possibly with the help of policies on diversity in companies and corporate welfare programs “.

Overcoming the gender gap that historically characterizes the world of infrastructures, putting in place alliances with universities and research centers is the goal that Autostrade per l’Italia has set itself, establishing company-university alliances to ensure the knowledge necessary to face the great challenges of sustainable mobility. An action that aims to feed the involvement of female talents in a sector, that of civil engineering, which still today in Italy only 19% of women graduate. A strategy, the cornerstone of Aspi’s transformation plan, which is embodied in the Group’s Diversity & Inclusion program, as explained by Gian Luca Orefice, director of Human Capital Organization & Hse Aspi: “Supporting skills as universal elements capable of guaranteeing equity and inclusion. The power of knowledge as the architrave of integration and internal growth of all and for all ». An assumption that translates into a series of initiatives including joining the Girls @ Polimi program to which various companies, including Fastweb, have joined.

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