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International Day of Women and Girls in Science is on Tuesday 11th February
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Australian Government data from 2024 shows women make up just 15% of the STEM workforce (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics)
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UNSW Sydney is a leader amongst Australian universities in providing STEM education to women, with world-leading female experts across the science, engineering and technology sectors
On International Day of Women and Girls in Science, UNSW Sydney is proud to recognise the integral role of women in STEM and celebrates the women driving this pioneering research.
UNSW experts are available to comment on the contribution women have made to understanding the range of STEM disciplines, and why more women need to enter the professions.
With world-renowned academics in Science, Technology and Engineering, UNSW is committed to growing the number of women pursuing careers in STEM through quality education and teaching transferrable science and technology skills.
UNSW experts available for comment:
Scientia Professor Veena Sahajwalla is an internationally recognised materials scientist, engineer and inventor. She is a leading expert in recycling science and has recently been appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO). She is also the founding Director of the Centre for Sustainable Materials Research & Technology (SMaRT) at UNSW which has pioneered new technologies to help solve some of Australia’s urgent waste and resources challenges.
Prof. Sahajwalla says, “Women in science and engineering play such a vital role in helping to solve the many challenges we face to improve our environmental, social and economic wellbeing.”
Scientia Professor XiaoJing Hao is a world expert in solar technology and has helped establish Australia's global leadership in this field. She recently led the team of UNSW engineers that broke the world record for solar cell efficiency. She can speak to the barriers women face entering the STEM fields, as well as her recent world-record success and her focus on low-cost, high efficiency solar cells.
Dr Wendy Lee from the School of Electrical Engineering and Telecommunications encourages women to enter the STEM fields through the Superstars of STEM program. She is a robotics scientist and runs workshops and education programs for girls in primary and high school. She is an ambassador with Science and Technology Australia’s Superstars of STEM Program.
Professor Cordelia Selomulya is a chemical engineer and an expert in future food advancement. She can speak to the increasing representation of women in chemical engineering, as more women take up the discipline at university and the importance of female mentorship within STEM – both in academia and in the workforce. She says it’s important to have more equity in engineering, particularly at the senior levels.
Contact details:
For interviews and enquiries please contact the UNSW Media team on [email protected].