An open letter to STEM business leaders: What I wish you knew about gender equality

Dear CEO / CTO / COO / CFO / Director / Founder / Head of Engineering/ Partner / Principal,

I know that gender equality is one of those things that plays on your mind now and then. There's immense pressure for you to "get it right" and be seen that your'e doing something.

But I totally understand why you feel backed into a corner when it comes taking any sort of action.

If you don't do anything, your staff will complain. If you try something that doesn't work, the rest of senior leadership will ridicule you for wasting time and resources.

So when there are no obvious actions that'll guarantee a return on investment, you feel the safest thing you can do is... well, nothing.

But here's what I wish you knew.

Literally no-one in STEM has gotten gender diversity right. Even the biggest global tech firms can't boast a 50/50 gender split. And instead of carrying that pressure to make correct decisions all the time, just know that nobody in the world knows what the right thing to do is. Yet.

What you can do though, is try.

Go back to your STEM routes and use your mindset of experimentation. Test whether an idea will work and be honest to your board of directors and staff that you're not an expert. But tell them you'll give it go.

Announce that you'll be open to feedback because achieving gender equality doesn't just fall on your shoulders.

It's the responsibility of every single employee in your organisation to make it happen.

I understand that being in senior leadership is hard. There's so much expectation for you to stay on budget and exceed your targets. It's lonely at the top. But this isn't a project you alone can fix, so bring your team on the journey with you.

In STEM, we solve the world's biggest science and engineering problems using new and innovative ideas.

Can't we use the same mindset to solve the diversity problem too?

If you take only one thing away from reading this letter, it's this: The fastest way we can achieve gender equality is by you leading the charge.

We need you to take responsibility for this challenge, but it doesn't mean you have to know all the answers.

Remember that caring about gender balance isn't just a "nice to have". It makes financial sense plus it makes your employees happier and more productive.

Please promise me you'll consider what I'm saying for the sake of everyone in your organisation. If you're not sure what kind of action you can take next, I'm happy to share my ideas.

My virtual door is always open. Please feel free to schedule a meeting with me here.

Yours Sincerely,

Tiffany Dawson, STEMinist