Raising the bar for women to change the game in STEM

Research Australia and AbbVie joined forces to ignite a spark in Australia’s next generation of female STEM leaders through the Future Health Leaders Program. From classrooms to Parliament House and CSIRO, young women from across the country were mentored by trailblazing female leaders in research, industry, education, and government.

The program confronts one of the most stubborn challenges in Australia’s health and life sciences sector: the STEM gender gap. Despite the crucial role women play in innovation, only a quarter of Year 12 students enrol in IT, physics, and engineering, and women make up just 15% of Australia’s STEM workforce. A shortage of visible role models drives talented young women away from these fields, yet diverse teams are proven to strengthen the pharma and biotech pipeline and ensure solutions reflect real-world needs.

Nadia Levin, CEO and Managing Director of Research Australia, said “Mentorship and visible role models are powerful tools for keeping young women engaged in STEM. The Future Health Leaders Program is creating pathways for students to see what’s possible, and to step confidently into careers that will shape the future of health and medical research.”

Lindsay Grant, Medical Director ANZ at AbbVie, commented “Australia’s future health and research breakthroughs depend on nurturing today’s students. Unfortunately, young girls are more likely to drop out of STEM subjects and so we must do more to nurture their often-unlocked talent in STEM. AbbVie has a strong history of supporting women, and we are proud to partner with Research Australia, who share our commitment to building a more diverse and inclusive pipeline of talent that will strengthen our industry and benefit patients into the future.”

“Women remain significantly underrepresented in Australia’s STEM-skilled workforce compared to other industries, and programs like this are vital to closing that gap. As we reflect on the program’s session in Canberra, having heard from so many remarkable female leaders across the STEM and HMR sectors, it’s crucial to remember the importance of using our platforms to support future generations. As women in leadership roles, we must be committed to sending the elevator back down,” Levin added.

The Future Health Leaders Program is part of a broader surge of initiatives supporting young women in STEM. Last month, AstraZeneca partnered with Macquarie University’s Girls to Graduates program to empower female students in STEMM, while the International Medical Robotics Academy (IMRA) launched Australia’s first surgical robotics curriculum for secondary schools, aiming to inspire the next wave of female surgeons. Together, these programs are reshaping the path for the future of female STEM leaders.

In reimagining healthcare across the entire patient journey, Health Industry Hub^TM is the only one-stop-hub uniting the diversity of the Pharma, MedTech, Diagnostics & Biotech sectors to inspire meaningful change.

The Health Industry Hub^TM content is copyright protected. Access is available under individual user licenses. Please click here to subscribe and visit T&Cs here.