Ahead of next year’s Bett Show, which will concentrate on the role of women in STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths), we have been reviewing several recent articles discussing the consistently high numbers of male faces in these industries and what it means for the women and girls aspiring to crack this world.

Fortune’s Most Powerful Women list highlights that there has been a shift in the trends of the industry backgrounds of the women taking the top places. Historically, women at the top of the list have backgrounds in creative fields such as advertising and media, but the recent statistics show this is changing. Many of today’s most powerful women work in motor or computing companies.

While this shifting trend is positive, The Guardian’s article, “A woman in tech is as rare as a girl on a skateboard,” discusses a “stubborn self perpetuating cycle” where girls learning STEM subjects at school (who often outperform their male counterparts) only associate the resulting careers with men. Thus, these careers continue to be largely male-dominated.

A report by the IPPR thinktank found that there is still a dearth of female candidate for A Level STEM subjects and recommends changes to teaching and inclusion styles from an early age which includes better, curriculum-integrated careers advice.

Turn IT On understands the importance of integrating STEM subjects from primary age, and no other ICT support company offers schools as much support with their strategic computing development. This means that children attending schools that are supported by us will be growing up with access to the best innovative ranges of cross-curricular computing. To find out more please email enquiries@turniton.co.uk. We will be at the Bett Show in January so please come and chat to us about technology at your school.