New Programme To Inspire Girls To Pursue Maths

A new programme to inspire girls in Northern Ireland to continue their pursuit of maths has been launched by Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and professional services firm PwC.

The aim of the Maths4Girls programme is to increase engagement and interest levels of girls aged 11-14 in maths because this opens-up high-impact STEM-related careers. An initiative by Founders4Schools (F4S), the program is designed to increase the number of girls taking maths beyond GCSE, by connecting young girls with women professionals and role models who use maths in their careers. The highly acclaimed pilot involved 25,000 girls in England and showed material increases in girls' confidence and intention to study maths post GCSEs.

The Northern Ireland launch event was a half-day round table conference attended by teachers, policy makers, universities, and TCS clients.

Sherry Coutu, CBE Chairman, F4S, said: "I am delighted to be partnering with TCS and PwC to extend this important programme geographically to Northern Ireland. Just before the pandemic, we launched Maths4Girls to bring Maths into the hearts and minds of girls aged 11-14 so they voluntarily chose Maths to the age of 18. We did so to improve the skills of our workforce, the competitive advantage of our nation, the productivity of our businesses and the life chances of our children and our grandchildren."

Priyanka Sethi, Head of Strategy and Sales, Education, TCS UK&I, said: "We are delighted to bring the Math4Girls initiative to Northern Ireland. At TCS we are committed to increasing the representation of women in STEM careers and this is a fantastic initiative designed to increase engagement with Maths among young girls. Our hope is that by increasing the number of young girls studying maths, we can reduce the gender gap that exists in STEM careers. At TCS about 35% of our Irish workforce are women which is significantly above the 21% IT industry standard, but we would love to see that representation increase in the future."

Cat McCusker, Regional Market Leader, PwC NI, said: "We were fully onboard with the opportunity to support the launch of Maths4Girls in NI. The initiative has the potential to make a big difference in addressing the significant and persistent shortfall in STEM skills that currently exists here.

"Fewer than one in 10 girls in NI pursue STEM to the point of employment, and despite women making up almost half of Northern Ireland’s workforce, only 11% of engineers are female. When this is combined with the fact that only 18% of primary school teachers in NI specialise in maths, and that Physics A-level is only available in a few select grammar schools here; it paints a stark picture. Especially when we consider that more and more jobs are increasingly demanding important STEM skills.

"A significant area of focus for PwC is to nurture upcoming talent, so that jobs of the future aren't threatened by a scarcity of key skills. We need to increase the skills pipeline in Northern Ireland, to make sure that future demand for STEM skills is met, for the benefit of our young people, and ultimately for the prosperity of this region."