IncludeHer Movement

As a female student in STEM (Science Technology Engineering Math), I have always struggled with a feeling that I don't belong and that science isn't for people like me. Unfortunately, this is a common experience for many minorities in STEM. For many of us, there are little or no people we can relate to in our fields and an under-representation of women and gender minorities in STEM in the media. The combination of these issues can hinder their study and career progression, decrease their enrolment in STEM courses and place unnecessary extra workload and stress on women in STEM fields.

And the problem starts as early as the classroom. Science courses around Australia almost entirely focus on men's work while ignoring women's contributions.

The IncludeHer Movement was founded in 2018 by Kat Ross and calls for increased representation of women and gender minorities in our STEM education. We want to rectify the gender imbalance in STEM curricula around Australia. The IncludeHer Movement seeks to bring a diverse representation of scientists and role models into classrooms. We want to inspire students to believe they can pursue careers in STEM and be leaders in the field.

Please support us in developing a program to visit schools around Australia and show students that STEM is for everyone.

With your help, we aim to develop a program to bring role models into the classrooms for students across Australia. This program will run alongside teacher training sessions to help build class plans incorporating diverse examples of scientists without putting the onus on teachers to develop them themselves. This funding will help us:

Since its inception, IncludeHer has grown into a movement with volunteers across Australia. We have received support from several notable scientific organisations, individuals and political figures. These include the Astronomical Society of Australia, Australian Geographic, Arid Recovery, Professor Lisa Harvey-Smith, Professor Emma Johnston, Professor Alan Duffy, Richard Di Natale and several Superstars of STEM. We have also begun working with the NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) and QLD Curriculum and Assessments Authority (QCAA) on developing year 11 and year 12 science courses to increase female scientists' representation.

IncludeHer aims to be a voice of the community and work with curricula developers to help produce the best possible science curriculum for all students.