Their perspectives highlight the barriers that still exist, the importance of visibility, and how increasing access to STEM education and careers benefits everyone.
Dr Andrea Johnson, Chief Information Officer, Pipedrive said: “When people hear the word ‘doctor’, most still picture a man – only 5% assume they will be female. When I was studying for my PhD in computer science, the vast majority of my peers were male. Even now, people are often surprised that my PhD is in STEM. I used to joke that it was in knitting, but I stopped because that response highlights a deeper issue. As a mature student from a working-class background, I was already breaking norms by pursuing a PhD in STEM. By downplaying it, I played into the idea that women like me are exceptions. If we want more women in STEM, we need to stop framing their presence as exceptional and start seeing it as the norm.
“This is why opportunity and representation matters. You can’t aspire to what you don’t see, and without equal access to opportunities, change is slow. That’s why creating inclusive workplaces is essential. At Pipedrive, and as a board member of Women in Technology and Science Ireland, I encourage diversity by ensuring that women in STEM have the visibility, support, and pathways to thrive. But this isn’t a workplace issue; it starts earlier in schools, universities, and the narratives we tell young girls.
“Today, on the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, let’s push for a world where talent, not gender, defines who belongs in STEM. The next generation of innovators is already out there – some just don’t realise they belong, yet. It’s on all of us to make sure they do.”
Mandi Walls, DevOps Advocate at PagerDuty said: ““Science skills and training are foundational to many of the most rewarding, exciting, and important careers in the world right now. Widening access to more women and girls is important to not only making a more balanced workforce, but in improving the products and services that the whole population uses. Society is catching up and correcting various historical oversights, and a major one is getting more female talent into the STEM workforce to accelerate the benefits for everyone.
“Many organisations and private businesses have schemes in place to reach out to school or mentor STEM students and graduates of all ages. It would be even better if we could collectively encourage our education systems and society at large to widen representation and access to the skills of science, engineering, technology, and software coding to grow the skill-base for all. We are living in a scientific and technological age, and if we can make our next generation more representative, we all reap the benefit of better technology and social outcomes.”
