Boy Takes Home Top Prize in Competition for Girls in STEM

Article here. Excerpt:

'Pretty Curious, a U.K. program aimed at getting girls interested in STEM careers, asks on its website, “Why aren’t more girls pursuing science?” Some critics of the program think the answer may have something to do with Pretty Curious granting a 13-year-old boy the winner in a STEM competition this week.

Out of more than 100 entries, the boy’s game console that harnesses energy through thumb controls cinched the top prize for energy company EDF’s Pretty Curious Challenge. While the program was originally created to keep girls interested in STEM, the officials at Pretty Curious decided to open up the competition to all U.K. kids ages 11 to 16.
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The irony of a boy winning a competition whose stated purpose is to “spark the imagination of 11- to 16-year-old girls, encouraging them to pursue science-based subjects at school and in their future careers” was quickly pointed out on social media.
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EDF responded to the complaints by saying that the competition was gender-neutral, telling the BBC it was opened up to both boys and girls in an attempt to promote fairness.
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“This is a fail on so many levels,” Suw Charman-Anderson, the founder of celebratory women in STEM event Ada Lovelace Day, wrote in a blog post on Saturday. “Extending participation to boys rather undermines [Pretty Curious’] message, and when a boy wins, it says, ‘Girls! You will always come second to boys!’"'