Industry Talk

Regular Industry Development Updates, Opinions and Talking Points relating to Manufacturing, the Supply Chain and Logistics.

Tech industry should encourage students from diverse background to take up STEM subjects

Many students up and down the country received their A-level results this week. The results showed that the number of girls taking science A-levels has overtaken boys for the first time ever. This comes following a major push in recent years to encourage girls to take up science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) subjects in school.

Guita Blake, Senior Vice President & Head of Europe at Mindtree believes that it is the combined responsibility of the government, education providers and technology companies alike to encourage students from diverse backgrounds to take up STEM subjects at school, thus ensuring that we cultivate the next generation of the IT leaders.

“It is fantastic to see today’s A-level results showing more young women pursuing STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) subjects in their studies. Only by diversifying our workforce can the tech industry continue to develop at the pace required to remain competitive with the rest of the world. With greater visibility for successful women in STEM and with continued encouragement and more education, we can chip away at out-dated biases and create a healthier gender balance in this rewarding and exciting industry.

“It is the combined responsibility of the government, education providers and technology companies alike to encourage students from diverse backgrounds to take up STEM subjects at school, thus ensuring that we cultivate the next generation of the IT leaders. With only 23 per cent of the UK tech workforce currently represented by women, it is our mission at Mindtree to ensure we are working hard to ensure this figure is higher within our European practice and we look forward to welcoming more of these excellent young women to our company as they enter the industry over the next few years.”