Female scientists are almost entirely omitted from Australian curriculum, a new study has found, with researchers warning the “alarming” lack of representation could be contributing to the gender gap in the field of Stem.
The study, published in the Australian Journal of Education on Monday, analysed the curriculum of the four year 11 and year 12 Stem subjects taught in Australian schools – biology, chemistry, physics and environmental science.
It found only one female scientist, British chemist Rosalind Franklin, was named in high school curriculums in Queensland, South Australia and the Northern Territory.
All remaining states and territories failed to mention a single contribution of a woman in Stem, instead focusing coursework exclusively on a male-centric narrative.
Lead researcher Dr Kat Ross from Curtin University said the lack of female representation in science curriculums across the country was both “alarming” and “inaccurate”.
“This focus on a sole male genius is common throughout the Australian national syllabus,” she said.
“We know participation rates of girls in Stem are low compared to boys, and this gender gap in the science heroes they learn about at school is likely a contributing factor.”
Women make up just 37% of enrolments in university Stem courses, and 17% of VET Stem enrolments.
Only 15% of Stem-qualified jobs are held by women, whereas women make up close to 50% of the broader workforce. At a managerial level, only 8% of chief executives in Stem-qualified industries are women.
The most recent data, released in 2022, found the gap between women’s and men’s pay in Stem industries was $27,012, or 17%.
Study co-author Dr Andrew Battisti from ANU said it was vital for female students to have role models to look up to spur an interest, and possible further study, in science.
“Seeing role models in Stem fields that align with a student’s identity can help to provide positive reinforcement that they themselves belong in Stem,” he said.
ANU PhD researcher Tegan Clark said she wasn’t surprised by the findings.
“I’ve had the same experience first-hand,” she said. “Einstein, Newton were the models I had growing up, and that was replicated in university when researchers discussed the history of field astrophysics – it was all dominated by men.
“If women were there, they were erased. It’s everywhere within education. Men dominate in research and classes, then in content.”
The history of science has often seen women’s work overlooked and their credit stolen.
Clark said it wasn’t difficult to find examples of women who could be incorporated in curriculums, pointing to Marie Curie, the multiple Nobel prize-winning physicist and chemist who conducted pioneering research on radioactivity, physicist Lise Meitner and electrical engineer Florence Violet McKenzie.
Australia was also full of examples, including award-winning astrophysicist Lisa Harvey Smith who promotes equity in Stem, astronomer Karlie Noon and Kirsten Alexandra Banks, an astrophysicist and science communicator.
Clark said improving gender representation in classrooms would also assist with tackling severe Stem shortages in Australia’s workforce.
“Changing this makes women more visible and reflects the society we want to have … the little changes add up,” she said.
“Young girls and gender diverse people need these role models to think ‘I can be like them’.”
As a result of the findings, the Queensland Curriculum Assessment Authority (QCAA) has promised to address gender representation of scientists in its senior science syllabuses.
Draft versions achieve overwhelmingly improved balance in gender representation and more modern versions of science.
The New South Wales education department has included five women in its draft syllabus for year 7 to 10 students, including Marie Tharp, Henrietta Lacks, Vera Rubin, Veena Sahajwalla and Fiona Wood.
A spokesperson for the NSW Education Standards Authority said it had been “conscious of the current inadequate representation of women” in drafting the syllabus and was “taking steps” to address it.
A spokesperson for Victoria’s education department said its science curriculum provided “multiple opportunities” for students to learn about the work of female scientists through its requirement to learn about scientific discoveries and inventions.
The study also found an almost exclusive focus on European discoveries and research in Stem fields in school curriculums, which the authors said could negatively impact students from culturally and linguistically diverse communities.
