Only 15 per cent of jobs in the rapidly growing world of STEM are done by women. But that’s not the case at SARDI, where women make up half the workforce. We talk to two women leading the way in STEM through their roles at our state’s major research hub.
STEM stands for science, technology, engineering and maths. Sometimes an extra “m” is added for medicine. SARDI Acting Executive Director Hannah Brown calls STEM “the sexy acronym to group these things together to give people a community and a home”, although she actually prefers to call STEM “careers in curiosity”, she says, because that sums up what it’s all about for her.
For Hannah, STEM is “the best career in the world”, and she wouldn’t change it for anything. However, for other women, it’s a tough sector to thrive in. According to the STEM Equity Monitor 2023, women make up 37 per cent of enrolments in university STEM courses, and just 17 per cent of VET (vocational education and training) STEM enrolments – not to mention the 17 per cent gap between women’s and men’s pay in STEM industries.
But it’s not all doom and gloom: Despite the challenges, the number of Australian women in STEM-qualified occupations increased by 68 per cent from 2012 to 2022.
Welcome to SARDI!
SARDI (South Australian Research and Development Institute) is the state government’s leading research hub, and part of PIRSA (Department of Primary Industries and Regions). SARDI is here to help SA’s primary industries “grow well”, Hannah says; “We’re always thinking about how we can deliver more for farmers and industry to actually create and grow extraordinary things here”. That’s hugely important, because primary industries and agribusiness are worth $17.3 billion a year to SA and employ 71,000 people full-time, mostly in regional SA.
SARDI is also a leader in STEM gender equality and an inspiration for SA’s young women to get into the STEM game. “It’s really important that we lead by positive example”, Hannah says. “The best way to change the gender balance in STEM is for women to be in the industry, be visible and be part of its leadership group.”
Role models are important
“That’s something that we take really seriously at SARDI and it’s something that I think we’re pretty good at,” she says. “When I sit at the executive table with our CEO and our execs, half of the people at the table are women.” She says the gender balance at every level of SARDI is roughly 50/50. And there are some super impressive young women at all levels of SARDI doing very cool things that girls can be inspired by.
Plus, she says, they’re seeing amazing women they can look up to, who look like them – a new development that Hannah says can make a huge impact for the future of women in STEM. Thanks to Hannah, young people can now see “a tattooed bisexual female scientist who’s married to a woman” in charge at SARDI. Although she doesn’t say so, it’s a good bet she’s one of those ‘amazing women’ they’re looking up to.
Busting STEM myths
Increasing the participation of women in SA’s STEM workforce is a significant opportunity to unleash a whole lot of awesome brain power, boosting innovation, creativity, and our state’s competitive edge. In order to understand what STEM is all about, and why it’s an awesome career for women, Hannah is here to bust five of the common myths that turn women (and young people in general!) off STEM during education and work.
Myth 1: STEM is boring.
Hannah says STEM is a career “where you have a lot of fun and every day is different”. Plus she says STEM is changing too fast for anyone to get bored. “It’s different from one generation to the next, or even from one year to the next,” she says. “That’s the fun thing about science – it’s innovative.”
Myth 2: STEM is irrelevant to everyday life.
SARDI is all about applied science that’s “immediately useful to the person who needs the information” – as well as the state’s economy, Hannah says. “Our people know how to talk to farmers – they’ve got their boots on kicking the dirt with the farmer asking what their issues are.”
Myth 3: STEM is hard and only for really ‘book smart’ people.
Despite the stereotypes, you don’t need to be a genius with a PhD to work in STEM and STEM-adjacent jobs. Everyone is welcome! Hannah says STEM careers are “normal jobs just like any others”, with lots of hands-on options. Even if you didn’t finish high school, TAFE SA offers loads of courses that can kick-start a cool career in applied sciences – and can even lead to a job at PIRSA.
Myth 4: STEM doesn’t let you be creative and passionate.
“Creativity plays a huge part in science. You have to be creative and use creative solutions and inventive thinking. It is absolutely a career of curiosity and following your passion.”
Myth 5: STEM jobs are all in a lab.
“At SARDI, I’ve got scientists that drive tractors every day, and we’ve got people out on the ocean in boats.” Not to mention the scientists in the Barossa right now using a machine with cutting-edge technology in the field to measure the methane in cow and sheep burps (it provides important data that could help slow climate change!).
STEM inspiration: Gretchen Grammer
Gretchen Grammer is principal scientist, sub-program leader, pelagic (ocean-dwelling) fishes at SARDI.
Her journey into a STEM career started with a childhood love of the ocean, which never went away and fuelled her studies in science. Originally from the US, she moved here for her PhD research at the University of Adelaide and never left. “I had no idea how much I would love working in applied fisheries science, but it’s super satisfying to be able to do research to help our South Australian people and the industries here – that’s amazing,” she says.
Sardine surveys and underwater exploration
Gretchen’s job involves overseeing SARDI’s annual population survey of sardines, covering 130,000 square km of ocean each summer. In a 25-metre SARDI research vessel, researchers work in “challenging” 12-hour shifts in almost all weather sieving the seas for six weeks at a stretch, collecting samples of fish and eggs that are later counted in the lab to produce valuable data to ensure the sustainability of the fish stock. At first glance, sardines might not seem like a terribly sexy subject, but Gretchen is super passionate about her work. Plus sardines really are important: The SA sardine fishery is the largest in Australia, worth $38.2 million annually to our state’s economy.
And counting sardines is not the only ocean research Gretchen’s been involved with lately. She’s also part of a team using an autonomous underwater vehicle towing a camera along the state’s seabed to produce a live feed of seascapes never seen before, including seagrass meadows, rolling hills and reefs. “I grew up reading about ocean explorers that were doing that and now I am one!” she says. “I think that’s just incredible.”
Read more about all the amazing research and innovations happening at SARDI here.
Want more? Gretchen and Hannah talk all things STEM, gender equality and sardines in the latest episode of Hot Topics:
