THE BUILDING FOREVER PODCAST Building Forever is a De Beers Group podcast that explores how we’re creating a positive, lasting impact on the world around us – an impact that will endure well beyond the discovery of our last diamond. Episode Five: Women in STEM In this episode we talk to Hayley McLeod, Emily Smyth and Jenna Lyons – three of 60 brilliant women who’ve received scholarships through our partnership with UN Women, to study STEM subjects at Canadian universities. They talk about how they challenge societal preconceptions and biases as they make their way through higher education in STEM-specific subjects. Our scholarship programme is part of our commitment to engage more than 10,000 young women in STEM by 2030. We’re doing this in close collaboration with UN Women and fellow partner WomEng in Southern Africa. We also hear from Pamela Cook Ellemers, Principal Mineral Resource Manager for De Beers Canada, whose passion and enthusiasm for women in STEM – and the scholarship programme she helped kick off – shines through in this insightful and heartfelt discussion. Ethical practice, thriving communities, equal opportunity and the natural world are topics teeming with questions – and if you’ve got one for us, we’d love to hear it. So, if there’s something you think we should discuss in a future episode, do get in touch with us. You can email us at [email protected] or reach out on Twitter, @debeersgroup, using the hashtag #BuildingForever. And if you’re enjoying the show, please share it with someone you think might enjoy it as well. Never miss another show by following us at Anchor, or wherever you subscribe to your podcasts. Today, you’ll learn about: · Differing attitudes, both positive and negative, that women taking STEM subjects experience, across communities and programmes (03:55) · How your background and upbringing can strongly influence your career path, and even be something you must challenge to progress (06:43) · The impact of a scholarship on someone from a rural community – good grades can only take you so far (08:51) · Parents and mentors as powerful role models (10:00) · The role of internships and work experience in extending your STEM knowledge (13:12) · Tackling mental health in rural communities as a career path (15:00) · How male attitudes to women in STEM are improving, but still have a way to go (16:57) · That meeting and becoming part of a wider ‘women in STEM’ community is one of the true benefits of the scholarship (18:12) · How embracing failure fosters learning (20:25) · That establishing STEM programmes at school level should be a key part of giving back to your community when you qualify (22:28) · How one summer job can change your whole direction (25:17) · How more women in the field provides a diversity of perspectives (27:27) · The difference a good male mentor or ally can make (28:58) · The amazing work being done in partnership with UN Women (32:13) · The Make your Mark project, profiling women in the mining industry and their diverse roles, to inspire schoolgirls seeking STEM careers (36:29). Resources To find out more about our partnership with UN Women and WomEng, and how we’re progressing with our goal of engaging more than 10,000 young women in STEM by 2030, click here.