Dr Anne-Marie Imafidon MBE, Stemettes
Science and technology needs more women. Working in the digital space has made that clear to me a million times over. No-one is more passionate about making equality in STEM a reality than Dr Anne-Marie Imafidon.
If you haven’t heard her story, get ready to get to know someone seriously inspirational! She was one of the youngest people to receive a Master’s Degree in Mathematics and Computer Science from the University of Oxford. Now Anne-Marie is a thought leader in tech, delivers keynotes at leading companies like Google and is listed as one of the BBC’s 100 inspirational and is a Marie Claire Future Shaper.
As if all that wasn’t enough she then went on to found the social enterprise Stemettes that works to and inspire girls into Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths careers (STEM).
40,000 young people have attend free events, hackathons, exhibitions and workshops run by the Stemettes across the UK and an incredible 95% of those that attend just one event have an increased interest in STEM.
On the struggle to fight stereotypes in STEM Anne-Marie says:
The biggest barrier that we talk about is the social norm. It's all the stereotypes, and all the 'IT Crowd,' 'Big Bang Theory' type things that are pervasive across our culture.
So this week, we want to encourage you to get involved in STEM this Women’s History Month. Anne-Marie hosts the brand new Evening Standard podcast, Women Tech Charge, which features incredible women that are revolutionising our lives through tech - so why not give that a listen? Plus following and engaging with the Stemettes is a great way to get started. Here’s all the links, you know what to do.