Story:
Career Guidance and Support for Women in STEM Careers
Career Guidance and Support for Women in STEM Careers
About this Project
Country:
Global audience
Project Type:
Program Development, Institutional Strengthening, Diversity and Inclusion
Sector:
Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI)
Delivery Format:
Virtual
Partners:
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO-UNEVOC); Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions in Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Ghana, Grenada, Jamaica, Madagascar, Mexico, Nigeria, Paraguay, Peru, South Africa, Tanzania and Uganda.
Project Year & Length:
2023; One Year
The Opportunity
- This project was funded by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and included 14 countries in Africa and Latin America.
- The project focused on building Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions to deliver career guidance and support and encourage young women to become engaged in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)-related fields.
- The Capacity-Building Programme contributed to UNESCO’s Supporting TVET Institutions’ Post-Pandemic Recovery Project.
- As STEM skills grow in demand, the programme paid particular attention to career guidance services that would support young women and girls in STEM-related TVET and ultimately increase female participation in STEM-related careers.
Our Approach
- Conducted a needs assessment to better understand the context and customize the content of the webinars to meet the needs of the participants.
- Identified limited career guidance materials as a gap, making this a priority to support students throughout their STEM TVET.
- Discovered through the analysis that female students face several challenges related to gender discrimination and bias, gender inequity, societal influences, harassment, intimidation and sociocultural constraints.
- Facilitated three webinars that aimed to highlight the insights from those involved in STEM TVET regarding challenges, opportunities and strategies to foster the participation of women and girls in the sector.
- Barriers and Supports for Students Entering STEM TVET
- Supporting Students During Their STEM TVET Studies, and;
- Pathways to Employment and the Role of Career Guidance.
- Organized a panel session involving NC professors with industry experience, a current NC student, a NC alum, and a career guidance coordinator from a Jamaican TVET institute.
Partner Outcomes and Success
- NC successfully delivered the programme on integrating gender inclusive practices in career guidance and support in STEM to partner institutions.
- The programme consisted of two cohorts of participants from TVET institutions in Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Ghana, Grenada, Jamaica, Madagascar, Mexico, Nigeria, Paraguay, Peru, South Africa, Tanzania and Uganda.
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