“STATISTICS CANADA INDICATES THAT WOMEN ARE STILL LESS LIKELY THAN MEN TO ENTER STEM CAREERS, COMPRISING LESS THAN 30 PER CENT OF PROFESSIONALS IN THESE FIELDS, EVEN WHEN THEY HOLD A DEGREE IN AN AREA OF SCIENCE, TECH- NOLOGY, ENGINEERING AND/OR MATH.”


the ETFO office in the spring of 2024. Tis inspired me to make some changes to our STEM club and give it another go. At the conference, we learned some eye-opening statistics and facts. According to the World Economic Forum, “by the time girls are six years old, they are less likely to see women as ‘really, really smart’ and that same difference does not exist at age five.” Te gender gap is wide. Statistics Canada


indicates that women are still less likely than men to enter STEM careers, compris- ing less than 30 per cent of professionals in these fields, even when they hold a degree in an area of science, technology, engineering and/or math. When they do pursue STEM careers, women continue to be underpaid compared to men in their field. Interestingly, according to research, this


gap can be narrowed by introducing girls to STEM careers at an early age. In fact, Su- sana González-Pérez, Ruth Mateos de Cabo, and Milagros Sáinz – researchers based in Spain who study gender representation and STEM participation – found that exposure to female role models in STEM significantly


18 ETFO VOICE | SUMMER 2025


influences girls’ interest in these fields. Tis got me thinking: We needed to find a way to start a STEAM club for girls in order to both introduce them to a variety of career options and to the role-models they need to see.


HOW WE MADE IT WORK


In the summer leading up to the 2024-25 school year, I connected with our teacher- librarian, Sandy Zianis, seeking her advice and expertise on starting this club. We talked about the challenges that come with lunch- time clubs – specifically that the interest and attendance are inconsistent. If we wanted to create real change in this area for girls, we needed to ensure that we were intentional and consistent with our programming. My Grade 8 teaching partner, Chey


Cheney, was also an avid dabbler in STEM activities. If we could build the STEM club into our instructional programming, we could reach students with more impact. We proposed a block once a week where I and Ms. Zianis could meet with the girls, naming it the Girls STEAM Team, and Mr. Cheney would work with the boys.


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