Australia: Proposal to link lucrative government deals to gender diversity in STEM

Article here. Excerpt:

'Technology businesses applying for lucrative Australian government contracts should be required to have a gender diversity action plan before securing that funding, says Girl Geek Academy CEO Sarah Moran.

Ways to increase the participation of women, girls, and other underrepresented groups in the STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) fields are currently under consideration by the Diversity in STEM Review, a major government initiative led by the Department of Industry, Science, and Resources.

The long-running review published a list of draft recommendations in August, proposing more than a dozen ways to expand access to STEM education and industry access for underrepresented groups.

Key recommendations include a call for government funding bodies to formally commit to diversity in STEM programs and initiatives.

Moran’s Girl Geek Academy is a social enterprise focused on building gender equity in the technology sector.

Commenting on the draft recommendations, Moran said baking gender equity into the procurement process, above and beyond the review’s existing proposals, would help bridge the gap.

“We need to fix the system, not the girls: it’s a billion-dollar system and the government has both the power and money to change it,” Moran said in a statement.'