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Oakville woman aims to inspire girls in STEM studies by Nathan Howes Special to the Beaver 5 | Friday, March 4, 2016 | OAKVILLE BEAVER | www.insideHALTON.com Oakville's Nicole Anthony is on a mission to level the playing field for women in the STEM (science, technology, education and math) field. She hopes to do that with her new locally-based, not-for-profit organization GENEius Science -- which teaches STEM skills to high school youths through interdisciplinary labs in genetics and biotechnology. The group is run by Anthony, founder and director, and three other women in STEM-related industries in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). The Oakville resident is a secondary school science teacher with the Toronto District School Board (TDSB). "Getting more women involved in STEM starts with getting more girls involved in STEM. The lack of women in STEM is widelyrecognized, but there is a lot of interest towards addressing this gender gap," said Anthony. "A lot is already being done in terms of programs and resources We don't think its too late in high school to support girls in STEM. Nicole Anthony educator Nicole Anthony offered by outreach groups like ours." Starting with its pilot lab program GENEius Girls, the organization's goal is to give high school girls skills needed to pursue STEM careers. "This is a program to support and engage more girls in STEM. Interest doesn't necessarily always translate into more women entering STEM fields, but it is an important intervention at this stage," said Anthony. "It is a way to get girls into a room together and teach them in ways that are meaningful and impactful, so they are aware of all of these different avenues in STEM they can approach." GENEius Girls is currently geared towards students aged 14-18 because of the "sophisticated and complex nature of the lab content and our mission of providing access to this calibre of science inquiry to high school youths," she said. "We aim to make a positive impact on girls' STEM aspirations in all secondary grade levels. In other words, we don't think it's too late by high school to support girls in STEM," explainedW Anthony. "This is a huge hands-on type of program because they're dealing with the equipment, they're manipulating samples, they're analyzing things, talking in groups and building stuff." According to a 2011 Statistics Canada National Household Survey (NHS), women accounted for 39 per cent of university graduates aged 2534 with a STEM degree, compared with 66 per cent of university graduates in non-STEM programs. There is a "real push" to support girls in elementary and high school, Anthony said, so they can continue with their aspirations in college or university. "There is kind of a sweet spot in Grade 8, 9 where if girls aren't interested specifically in these types of fields, they're way less likely to pursue these courses at the senior see Teacher on p.7 KeeP your Family 2015 Platinum Award thank you for voting us 2015 Platinum best Heating & air conditioning company 10 YEAR PARTS & LABOUR WARRANTY* Replace YouR FuRnace & aiR conditioneR $ in rebates & Discounts Are You ou Ready? In 2016! UP TO 2,350 backed by coleman's 100% satisfaction Guarantee* Voted Best Financial Planner & Best Investment Company We SeRvIce All MAKeS OF cenTRAl AIR cOndITIOneRS And GAS FURnAceS *Limited Time offer. O.A.C. See store for details. APPLEBY 24 HR EMERGENCY SYSTEMS FIREPLACE, HEATING & AIR CONDITIONING CONTRACTORS DIAMOND OAKVILLE905.825.1893 BURLINGTON905.335.3203 HAMILTON905.540.9153 SERVICE Jennifer Watson and Peter Watson 2086 SpeeRS Rd., oakville Come See Our SHOWROOM Mon - Fri. 8am ­ 5pm; Saturday 11am ­ 4pm 220 Randall Street, Downtown Oakville 905-842-2100 www.applebysystems.ca peterwatsoninvestments.com