It is evident that if we are to encourage better female representation in traditionally male-dominated industries such as science, engineering and finance, reaching would-be candidates at a young age is not just important – it is critical. But how is the North East faring on this front? Moreover, how is the region doing with regards to younger engagement in the broader STEM agenda?

One person who is well placed to address this issue is Eleanor Baggaley, the lead for the Great North Maths Hub. Maths Hubs have been established to help schools and colleges lead improvement in mathematics education in England and are playing an important role in raising the profile of the STEM agenda.

We asked her, initially, about differences between young students in terms of mathematics – their abilities, attitudes and approach to learning. She told us: “In terms of what the students are actually capable of in maths, the balance is pretty much 50-50. However, the difference comes in what the students think their abilities are. Boys who have the same ability as girls are often much more confident about their ability. Girls who achieve similar marks can often lack that same confidence, so they do not see themselves as being of the same ability.

“Some of this is down to stereotyping which is reinforced from a very early age. Although my background is in secondary teaching, the ‘damage’ is often done around the age of 5-8. This is where it needs addressing and then reinforced year on year.

“The gap between girls and boys studying maths post-16 is wider in the North East compared to many other areas of the country. Professor Sir Adrian Smith, in his report to the DFE, highlighted some of the regions where the gap was wider. The figures should be readily available online which highlight the differences.”

Baggaley has been involved with The Core Maths Support Programme (at Education Development Trust) since 2014, trying to encourage schools to offer a new level 3 qualification in Core Maths.

This is aimed at students who have passed GCSE maths but do not have the confidence or the ability to study A-level Maths. “It’s designed to cover ‘real life’ maths such as finance and other quantitative skills required in further study and employment,” she says.

“My experience of this course has seen more girls become interested and seeing a reason why they should study mathematics post-16 even if they haven’t got ambitions for a traditionally mathematical career.

“Schools do make students aware of career options involving STEM but it often comes back to the confidence of the students, which girls have more of a tendency to lack.”

Angela Harrison is a director of Green Shift Educational Service Ltd; she is a teacher, examiner, STEM co-ordinator, outreach education, and North East STEM ambassador. Green Shift delivers a variety of STEM workshops (national curriculum or non-curriculum based), after school clubs and children’s science parties to children ranging from primary school age to young adults in Sixth Form.

Asked about her inspiration for setting up Green Shift, Harrison told us: “I have been teaching science (and maths) for just over 15 years now and I could see the engagement, interest and aspirations of pupils falling over time.

“Fewer and fewer pupils were interested in wanting to study the subject at a higher level and they had little interest in pursuing a career in science. They perceive the STEM subjects as being too difficult and they are not willing to put effort into studying these when they have much easier options open to them (their perceptions). They could not see the relevance of these subjects in the world around them and a lot of them thought that these subjects just did not matter.

“I knew young children (primary age) would have to be engaged and ignited into these subjects and that this needed to be nurtured and encouraged throughout their lives. If we can interest children at a younger age and then hold that interest and engagement, they will want to learn about these subjects and study them at a higher level.

“They need to have a solid foundation of science knowledge, understanding and skill which can be built on – we have found children do not have this when they leave primary school and enter secondary school.”

But what about after school and careers? While Harrison’s focus is on children, she does have some interesting thoughts on why fewer girls than boys pursue STEM careers – and what can be done to address this issue. She says: “I think girls do not pursue these STEM-based careers purely due to a lack of confidence and belief in themselves. Some of the professions are very male-dominated (engineer, astronaut etc.) so from an early age they learn this is something boys do. More publications need to show women working alongside men so girls do not feel like they are in the minority.

“I am a physicist and when I was at university completing my degree course, I was very much in the minority. Again, when I was undergoing my teacher training, I believe there were next to no women physicists training to teach this. If girls do not see other girls or women doing these things, they will assume it is just for the boys.”

While this may be the case, there are undoubtedly an increasing number of success stories whereby females have become prominent and risen through the ranks in STEM industries – and many of these stories can be found in the North East. A fantastic example here is that of Jolanta Weaver, senior lecturer in diabetes medicine at Newcastle University and honorary consultant endocrinologist at Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Gateshead. Dr Jolanta Weaver lays claim to the remarkable fact that she discovered that Metformin used traditionally to treat diabetes can also help patients with heart disease.

Asked about her work and motivation, Dr Weaver told me: “My personal motivation comes from the desire to improve lives of patients I care for in the NHS. My personal reason of pursuing research is that heart disease is the leading cause of death in our society and by active research we can change the natural history of this disease unlike other conditions.

“In speaking in general terms, the only progress in improving patients care is by clinical research. The building blocks towards it are achieved by basic science which further feeds into clinical research on any condition.

“We need a constant supply of motivated young people who are eager to ask relevant questions and are able to find the answers to them in their future career whether in basic science or clinical medicine. The only progress in any discipline is achieved via scientific curiosity which drives the progress forward.

“Many girls and young women are incredibly gifted in their school years, achieving fantastic GCSEs and A-level results. I am keen to encourage them to take their energy and their enthusiasm to a higher level and to engage in science and/or medicine so their skills and knowledge benefits society and them.”