..:: AUTO REPORT AFRICA ::..
Related Articles
Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix is celebrating this year’s International Women’s Day by confirming the start of its partnership with the Stemettes. An award-winning UK social enterprise led by Dr Anne-Marie Imafidon MBE, the Stemettes work to inspire and support girls, young women and non-binary young people into Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths careers.
To kick-off the partnership later this month, the Student to Stemette programme will match young women from low socio-economic and minority ethnic backgrounds with experienced Mercedes F1 engineers for a four-month mentoring programme, designed to support, guide and encourage their STEM journey.
Through workshops, events and learning experiences, the Stemettes have worked with more than 50,000 young people aged 5-25 across the UK and Ireland since 2013 to inspire the next generation and ignite their passion for STEM subjects. With women making up only 24 per cent of the UK’s core STEM workforce , the organisation is working to enable all young people to make informed decisions about STEM careers with the aim of women eventually being proportionally represented in the field.
Forming part of the team’s Accelerate 25 initiative, a five-year programme announced in December 2020 to mark the formalisation of our vision to become a more diverse and inclusive team, our partnership with the Stemettes will empower our employees to celebrate inclusion and give them the opportunity to mentor and inspire, as well as boosting the diversity of the team’s talent pipeline.
In July, 10 young women will also join the Stemettes Certification Academy, a one-week online STEM programme including inspirational sessions with Mercedes F1 employees and leading to an industry recognised qualification.
Dr Anne-Marie Imafidon MBE, Co-founder and CEO of Stemettes, said: “We are very excited to be partnering with Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix to motivate and inspire today’s generation of young women and non-binary young people to enter the world of STEM. We know from eight years of work how important mentoring support and advice is for mentees and are looking forward to starting our programmes this month with the enthusiastic employees at Mercedes F1. I very much hope that our work together will encourage more young people to choose STEM subjects and enter STEM industries in the future.”
Paul Mills, Chief People Officer at Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd, commented: “I am delighted that our partnership with the Stemettes has now begun and we are excited to get underway and start our first programme together. Mercedes F1 and the Stemettes share the same aims; to encourage, enthuse and build confidence in young women and support them as they consider STEM as part of their education and career. As a team, we are committed to increasing the diversity of our new recruits and I very much hope that some of the young people that we work with on the Stemettes programmes will consider us as an employer in the future.
“Equally, our current employees are showing great enthusiasm for the project and I know many are looking forward to sharing the fulfilment and enjoyment they experience in their chosen careers with the Stemettes students, whilst also developing skills themselves through the mentoring programmes and doing something a little different from their day job. We look forward to working closely with the Stemettes, learning more about their experiences and the STEM challenge, and seeing what more we can do to support.”
Stemettes
Dr Anne-Marie Imafidon MBE created Stemettes in 2013 to ensure girls, young women, and non-binary young people know that technical fields are for them. The Stemettes’ mission is to inspire, encourage and support young people into STEM fields with their ‘Free, Fun, Food’ ethos. As of 2021, Stemettes has changed the lives of 52,000 young people across the UK, Ireland and parts of Europe.
Stemettes run more than 50 interventions each year – a mixture of intersectional cohort programmes, impactful events and inspirational content platforms. These interventions improve perceptions of STEM, raise awareness of options within STEM, grow the network these young people have across STEM and improve their self and STEM confidence.
The next steps for Stemettes lie in developing the reach and programmes they have across the country to STEM cold spot areas, extending the Stemette provision to Parents, Guardians and Teachers (who the Stemettes call Influencers) and powerfully transitioning alumnae into industry powerhouses.
Anyone wanting to help can donate to Stemette Futures, spread the word about Stemettes as far and wide as possible, and volunteer on a Stemettes programme. For anyone already in the industry, the best way to support would be to ensure that Stemettes doesn’t need to exist. Use your sphere of influence to be a good ally, ensure that equitable practice is employed in your workplace across hiring practices, promotion and the allocation of positions of responsibility.
