 Gylew g English. A tyfn o lotr, maen nhw hefyd yn cael eu darntheu. Da hollwch eu hyd yn hawdd y g Delun i gynedig. The debate will be concluded without any questions being put. I would ask those members who would wish to speak in the debate to press the request to speak buttons. I call on Audrey Nicoll to open the debate around seven minutes. I placed that motion on increasing the participation of women and girls in STEM? I was privileged to speak to that wonderful woman during my research and I like to extend my thanks to organisations that submitted very informative briefings, a head of today's debate, namely STEM, science, technology and engineering and the Mathematics almost every aspect of modern society from food production to advancements in medicine, economic forecasting, a growing space sector, arts, culture. STEM is a key driver of economic growth in Scotland. My personal interest in STEM is deeply linked to the north-east energy sector and the rapidly growing demand for a strong STEM workforce to help facilitate our ambition to become a global energy hub. In his report, making the switch, Professor Paul Dallu of the Robert Gordon University reminds us the north-east hosts a workforce that possesses the specialist knowledge and expertise to deliver and accelerate the energy transition. However, women make up only around 25 per cent of the oil and gas industry workforce and approximately 18.5 per cent of the offshore wind sector. That is, of course, seen elsewhere with women underrepresented in STEM on multiple levels, and while progress has been made to close the gender gap, the gap still exists. The parity in STEM learning between boys and girls diverges as children move through secondary school, with girls significantly less likely to learn STEM subjects beyond higher stage than boys, the leaky pipe analogy. In their briefing, close the gap highlight, fewer girls take STEM subjects such as physics, computer science and engineering science at higher level compared to boys. 73 per cent of female STEM graduates do not pursue a career in this area. Only 9 per cent of STEM professors are women, and women account for 11 per cent of directorships in the STEM sectors. Gender stereotyping, a lack of role models, access to STEM programmes and challenges around work-life balance and family responsibility all play their part. I spoke to many women working in the STEM sphere who spoke about how children's attitudes about gender and work roles become fixed at an early age and heavily influence their future subject choices. Close the gap, set that out clearly in their briefing. The crucial role of inspirational teachers and lecturers, supportive parents and carers in encouraging but not forcing STEM learning and careers. The Teach First report, Missing Elements, Why Steminism Matters in the Classroom and Beyond, highlights that only half of the UK population are able to name a female scientist. However, the good news is that I now understand that you can buy a Barbie professor, so all is well in the world. Beyond education, I heard about unwelcoming work environments where stereotypes about the different roles of men and women were strong. One academic spoke of our increasingly gendered society and how some men are, as she put it, blind to the issues of gender imbalance. Another academic spoke of the subtle barriers women in STEM face while at the same time being constantly reminded of her role as a STEM influencer. Another engineer told me of the pressures she felt to try harder to do more to prove herself and the lack of access to flexible working and good-quality part-time jobs was evidence and critical access to affordable good-quality childcare. Common themes about the challenges facing girls and women, but also much consensus on how to respond and some great examples of work already under way. Aberdeen City Council, Robert Gordon University, University of Aberdeen and Nescal have developed the Aberdeen Computer Collaborative, a computer science curriculum from early learning to senior phase, designed to encourage young people to consider a career in teaching computer science. Shell's Girls and Energy Partnership, a one-year course delivered with Nescal and Fife College, to showcase the energy industry's career opportunities to senior phase girls. Today, the Centre for Health Data Science at Aberdeen University is holding the annual Women in Data Science conference that will coincide with the annual worldwide data and science conference being held at Stanford University and around about 200 other locations worldwide. I was also pleased to note Equate Scotland, working in partnership with ConstructEd Scotland, offering a hands-on construction experience for women in graduate or postgraduate engineering. I look forward to hearing other examples of progress during members' contributions today. I welcome the Scottish Government's commitment to the career-wise programme and women in STEM pipeline project. I am encouraged that more female students are enrolling in maths and science college courses and female undergraduate engineering student numbers are increasing. What needs to change? First, tackling gender stereotypes. While initiatives such as taster sessions for girls are welcome, they are insufficient to create sustainable change. Earlier intervention in early years settings is required and prioritising gender competent leadership, particularly in wider education settings. Actively recruiting more women into roles where they are underrepresented and supporting women to access re-skilling opportunities, particularly relevant to the energy sector. Crucially, expanding access to affordable childcare and the Scottish Government's expansion of early learning and childcare to all three and four-year-olds and eligible two-year-olds is hugely significant in not only improving the health and wellbeing of children and parents but supporting parents into work, study or training. I look forward to hearing members' minister's response to speakers' contributions today. Again, I thank everyone for their support in bringing the debate forward. We will now move to the open part of the debate, with speeches of around four minutes, please. I call Evelyn Tweed to be followed by Pam Gozel. Thanks to my friend and colleague, Audrey Nicol, for securing this important debate. Although STEM subjects are equally as popular with young girls as with young boys, there is a leaky pipe, as Audrey Nicol has mentioned, which leads to underrepresentation down the line. It should go without saying, but that is not caused by a lack of skill. Stigma is pushing women away from STEM. There are key barriers here, both material and social. Outdated gender roles lead girls to believe that STEM subjects are not for them. The Women in STEM project found a shocking 48 per cent of pupils that they were working with agreed that STEM-related careers are mostly suited to men. Close the gap highlighted in their briefing that girls are still significantly underrepresented in STEM subjects at school, with most recent data showing that girls made up just 17 per cent of computing science, 27 per cent of physics and 11 per cent of engineering science students at higher level. That, under representation, continues into higher education, and there has been only a slight increase in the number of women entering STEM degrees. For example, the number of women entering computing degrees increased from 19.9 per cent in 1920 to 22.7 per cent in 2122 and from 41.6 per cent to 43.8 per cent in the physical sciences. We can all agree that we have to do a lot better here. Early interventions to tackle this stigma and support women and girls in STEM are vital, and I am pleased to see that being taken very seriously in my constituency. From McLaren High's consultation with female pupils to redesign their computer cost delivery to Barnett Burn High's partnerships with external stakeholders, removing barriers and building passion for girls in STEM. Schools across Stirling are embracing a collaborative approach, building professional networks to share resources and curriculum. Female pupils from McLaren High have reached over 200 pupils across 11 primary schools with STEM and robotics workshops. That is helping to grow enthusiasm for STEM and providing very strong female role models. That collaborative approach extends into higher and tertiary education. Fourth Valley College is working in partnership with West College Scotland, Young Enterprise, Skills Development Scotland and Equate Scotland on an ambitious project. By involving older pupils in projects to market STEM to their peers, the Women in STEM project shows the influence of peer mentors in encouraging participation. The project also partners with employers building sustainable pathways for girls to progress into STEM careers, which is absolutely amazing. Innovative thinking is progress, but those ideas need to be backed by funding. A teacher whom I spoke to said that they had been prevented from running specific girls clubs as it would split already limited budgets. They also highlighted challenges providing after-school clubs to those who live in very rural areas. When we don't make space for women and girls of all backgrounds in STEM, we lose out on essential talent and vital perspectives. It was very good today to hear the First Minister speaking positively about encouraging women and girls into STEM and STEM subjects, but progress is extremely slow. We must take opportunities such as this debate to champion the excellent work that is already being done, but we need to push for more. I thank the member for bringing forward this important motion on increasing the participation of women and girls in STEM. The last time I spoke in a debate of this nature, I gave examples of extremely talented females that I had met at universities and research centres. It was clear to everyone in the chamber just how vital it is to support women to pursue STEM subjects because they bring diversity of perspectives that can lead to more innovative and effective solutions to real-world problems. As the member Evelyn Tweed highlighted, we already know that girls are significantly underrepresented in STEM subjects at a higher level, and we already know that the vast majority of female STEM graduates are not employed in STEM fields. Today, I would like to discuss how we act to remove the barriers for our future female STEM leaders. After speaking with the college sector, it is clear that the earlier we engage with school pupils, the less preconceived gender gaps there are. Colleges are doing some great work engaging with schools, for example. In West Lothian College, there are woodworking activities with local primary schools. New College Lanarkshire will also run toddle into STEM events with its earlier-year nurseries. Another fantastic example is the North East Scotland College, which runs an energy programme in partnership with Shell to encourage women into STEM careers. Close the gap believes that one possible solution is to ensure that women have access to training and development opportunities, as well as access to high-quality accessible childcare. I am concerned that the lack of action by the SNP Government will have long-term detrimental impacts. On the first point, I would say that I am concerned about the SNP's decision to roll back the previously announced £46 million in funding for the Scotland's colleges and universities. That funding was vital to Scotland's innovation landscape, and I hope that its removal will not have an impact on closing the gender gap in STEM. As for the matter of childcare, I think that Audit Scotland's report on the fragility of early learning and childcare sector is extremely concerning. Childcare providers are vital to ensuring that parents can return to the workforce. That is key for females in STEM, where there is a lack of flexible working and sometimes a culture of presentism. I am delighted to have contributed in today's motion about increasing the participation of women and girls in science, technology, engineering and maths. The debate has made it clear that we must absolutely increase girls' engagement in STEM-related activities from a young age to tackle preconceived stereotypes. Secondly, we must empower young females to pursue their careers in STEM by supporting the removal of barriers that exist, such as childcare and more. And last but not least, we must see investment. Without it, we risk undermining the STEM sector and closing the gender gap within it. Thank you, Ms Gozo. I now call Pam Duncan-Glancy to be followed by Michelle Thomson. Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer, and thank you also to Audra Nicoll for bringing this debate to the chamber today. Science, technology, engineering and maths are key to boosting future economic growth, driving innovation and finding solutions to some of the challenges of tomorrow and today, like our path to net zero sustainability, renewable energy, AI and the digital world. We cannot, should not and must not leave anyone behind on our mission to do that. That women and girls are still underrepresented in STEM is just not acceptable, it is holding us back. According to the National Science Foundation, only 28 per cent of STEM workers are women. The motion before us today estimates that that figure to be even lower, and even fewer women are represented in leadership positions in STEM fields. There are many reasons for that, but crucially, they can all be traced back to stereotypes that form, as we have heard, quickly and are ingrained from the very early stages of socialisation and education. To fix that, we need to start in the early years and relentlessly focus on it throughout the life course. A 2019 survey by a girl guiding found that more than half of girls aged 7 to 10 said that gender stereotypes changed their behaviour and affected how much they participate in class. A nearly three quarters of girls said that they saw or heard gender stereotypes in school. Those views form and reinforce ideas of what it means to be a girl or a woman, what jobs are suitable for men and women, what education interests they should have and what role in society they can play. That has had an impact on the decisions that young women and girls then make about their subject and career choices as they move through school on to further and higher education and into the workplace. You just have to look at data from the Scottish Qualifications Authority from 2021 to see that. At a higher level, women were far more likely to study art and design, French fashion, food tech and childcare, whereas men were more likely to study computer science, physics, engineering and graphic communications. That, of course, leads on to a trend in higher education of young women being underrepresented in STEM degrees, and that follows them to the workplace. It means that, despite young women being more likely to have higher levels of educational attainment, they have poorer labour market outcomes. Instead, we see women concentrated in low-paid jobs and gender-based inequalities persist. I have highlighted many times in the chamber the importance of seeing people like you in a room. The reality is that, because the number of women and girls in STEM subjects is so low, it is hard for the generation of women and girls to imagine themselves there. I say now to all women and girls listening today that STEM is for you. It is a disservice to you that you have been allowed to think otherwise. It is a missed opportunity for a sector that is too often losing out on the unique perspectives and talents that you bring. We need to change that and the way that we think about STEM, to see it as a field that is open to everyone. As I have said before, and as we have heard from contributions across the chamber today, there is much that we need to do to encourage women and girls to pursue careers in STEM, and it is our duty to do so. By working together, we can create a more inclusive and equitable world where everyone has the opportunity to reach their full potential, crucially, a world where women do not have to break the glass ceiling because they have constructed a world without it. I thank my friend and colleague Audrey Nicholl for bringing this important debate to the chamber today and for speaking so eloquently on this matter. I was an early adopter in technology and, having done a degree in music in the early 1980s, it quickly became apparent that technology had pervaded even the world of crotchets and quavers, and I found myself composing music for a repertory company using early versions of synthesisers and samplers, which led me ultimately to a postgraduate diploma in IT. Yet at school, IT held no interest for me. The computer room was filled with boys speaking an incomprehensible language, and at that point I couldn't discern the purpose and potential in IT. Seeing its application in music changed my perception, and I ended up spending time as a computer programmer, systems analyst and project manager. Ironically, the skills required in many STEM subjects were similar to those that I needed for music—problem solving, communication, creativity, critical thinking and data analysis. Anybody who has had to interrogate and analyse a complex piece of music such as that by Bach will understand what I am talking about. Improving the gender balance of STEM subjects in Scotland has been an ongoing issue for all of my life. Looking back even to 2015, when I was first elected as an MP Skills Development Scotland, in conjunction with the Institute of Physics and Education Scotland introduced a project entitled Improving Gender Balance Scotland. Eight years on, and the gender gap across STEM subjects is regrettably still evident. STEM Women in 2021 note that across the UK, just 19 per cent of those enrolled in a computer science-related subject were female. Worse, globally, research suggests that just 3 per cent of students enrolled on an ICT course are female. My early years in IT were filled with young, ambitious women such as myself, yet fast forward today, and we find that sector is one of the lowest ratios of female to male employees of any STEM sector. Over the course of my IT career, I saw many senior roles being dominated by men. The phenomenon already mentioned the so-called leaky pipeline still prevails and proves that this is a complex systemic issue rather than the kinder analogy of a few drips and leaks. I would be very wary of distilling the issue into a somewhat trite SNP-bad consideration, as world data and UK data demonstrates, for example, that 35 per cent of entrance to STEM higher education subjects are women. Data from the UK-wide UCAS shows that only 25 per cent of them graduate and only 30 per cent of the small number have sustained careers in their related subjects. As young women start to make choices over future careers, perhaps some arguably like the younger version of me relate to the phrase, if you can't see it, you can't be it. Those issues that limit women's economic participation in society—the same issues we come up against time again—caring, childcare responsibilities, gender stereotypes, unconscious bias and lack of flexibility in roles—can be compounded in STEM-related careers, where, for example, short-term breaks have a disproportionate effect due to the speed of technological advancement. The role of mentoring a network of support for women such as that provided by a quate and mentioned in today's motion is therefore crucial. In commending their work and the support provided by the Scottish Government, it is vital that more companies engage with those initiatives to bring about positive change led by and supported by women themselves. As Government wellbeing plans progress, we must focus on a truly gendered lens for all policies. Schools, universities, colleges, business, industry and academia must too all play their part. I thank Audrey Nicholl for securing this debate today. We are in a climate emergency, one that requires urgent, wide-reaching and radical change to what is still, despite all our warnings, despite all the evidence, a fundamentally fossil economy. If that changes to happen at the necessary scale and pace, it needs the work, the skills, the creativity and dedication of all members of our society. We simply cannot afford to maintain barriers, visible or invisible, conscious or unconscious, of ableism, racism or, as we are focusing on this afternoon, gendered exclusion. I am proud that the work of dismantling those barriers of supporting and enabling women and girls to play a full and active role in climate science and application is well and away in the north-east. Audrey Nicholl rightly celebrates work happening in Aberdeen, and I would like to commend the Dundee and Angus regional STEM partnership, which includes Dundee and Angus College, Abertau University, the University of Dundee, Education Scotland, Dundee City and Angus councils and partners in industry. In September last year, the partnership hosted a STEM expo at the Michelin Scotland Innovation Park in Dundee, with a theme of sustainable energy. It invited 750 stage 2 pupils from all 16 public secondary schools across Dundee and Angus, together with other schools in the region. It also secured funding to pay their travel to the event. Over two days, it hosted 438 students and 35 teachers, with an equal 50-50 representation of school students identifying as female and male. Building and sustaining those relationships between schools, universities and other institutions is vital to the task of encouraging and supporting girls and young women to study STEM subjects and embark upon STEM careers. At the University of Dundee, Professor Sue Dawson has recently hosted 60 secondary school students from Tayside to showcase the key discipline of environmental science in practice. They not only benefited from Professor Dawson's expertise and enthusiasm, but also from her example as a woman in a senior role. As Michelle Thomson has said, we know it is hard, if not impossible, to be what we cannot see. Role models, women in science who display not only professional success but also integrity, generosity, wisdom and humanity are essential. We are fortunate in the north east to have many such exemplars. Women like Dr Rebecca Wade of Abertaire University, National STEM Ambassador of the Year for 2021 and 2022. The climate crisis is closely entwined with the biodiversity and food crises, and the north east region has also visible an inspirational female leadership in tackling these urgent challenges, with women as two of the three professors at Aberdeen University's Rowett Institute. Aberdeen has also hosted specific conferences for women and girls, allowing potential and active women scientists to share their experience and expertise. Those examples of leadership are complemented by initiatives established by women students, including the Women in STEM group at the University of Dundee, which focuses on sharing information and opportunities, offering support and building an empowering environment. Of course, the range of disciplines in STEM extends far beyond traditional science and engineering. Women are slowly becoming increasingly important and visible within the IT and computing sectors. The growing prevalence of interdisciplinary projects also reminds us that there is no necessary bright line between STEM and non-STEM subjects, and that there are many alternative routes into science and scientific work beyond the traditional pathways. In closing, Presiding Officer, we all, politicians, academics and business people, need to look beyond formal processes and received wisdom to identify and address less visible factors that lead to underrepresentation of women and girls. The patriarchy we know can be insidious as well as egregious if we are to be truly effective in both fulfilling individual potential and facilitating responses to critical global and local issues. We cannot simply slot women and girls into existing structures. Instead, we need to find ways to recreate networks, processes and institutions so that they work better for everyone of all genders. That is work for all of us here and beyond this place—vital work. That cannot be postponed. Thank you, Presiding Officer. I begin by congratulating Audra Nicollin on securing today's debate on increasing participation of women and girls in science, technology, engineering and maths. It will be no surprise to the chamber that this is a topic close to my heart. However, the irony is not lost on me that I stand here as one of the leaky pipe highlighted in the motion and referenced by many contributors and also referenced in the 2012 Royal Society of End Report tapping all our talents. The report was initiated by the then scientific adviser within the Scottish Government, Professor Deyman Glover, and a 2018 review by Professor Leslie Yellowleece. In the preface, she asks these questions. Has the infamous leaky pipe and the lack of women making it to leadership positions in academia been fixed? Are more than 27 per cent of female graduates entering a STEM-related job on graduation? Are women in STEM in a better position or a worse position or in the same position as it was previously? These are questions that we have to be vigilant about, as Michelle Thomson indicated. IT is an area where women's participation has fallen behind over the years. What and more needs to be done to enable women to play their full part in shaping our future, helping to solve today's career challenges, as mentioned by Pam Duncan-Glancy, and using STEM-based skills to build up better, more economically vibrant and ecologically sound Scotland? Two of the Scotland's leading outstanding women were involved in that report. Given the importance of STEM with the fourth industrial revolution being upon us, it would be more than disappointing if progress is not being made. I declare an interest today in the board of CERC for over 10 years, laterally as vice chair until May this year. CERC has been addressing those gendered issues over several years, and I want to briefly high-site some of their initiatives, including renaming their buildings as Ava Lovelace and James Jocelyn, Bill Burnell, Bird Leagues. We need even simple measures like that to restress the historical and contemporary prevalence of women's contribution to STEM being overlooked. The Scottish Schools Education Research Centre offers a broad portfolio of services principally in support of STEM areas in the curriculum. From early years practitioners, primary and secondary teachers, to school and college technicians and childminders, its STEM ambassadors programme offers volunteering opportunities for those working or studying at college and university and to engage with young people in STEM activities. We received a briefing from CITB for this debate, and I thank it. One of STEM ambassadors is Ann Okafor. She highlights currently that only 12.5 per cent of construction workforce are women, and this is a missed opportunity. It is 6 per cent of our GDP, and that costs our economy. Ann encourages more women through her visibility by being a visible and accessible role model that girls can relate to. This is something that I have strived through the volunteering roles that I have undertaken, and Ann engages with her brownie troupe on STEM activities. The SERT Young Leaders programme, young people have the chance to inspire, lead and mentor their peers through the creation of a delivery of STEM activities and events within their school communities or youth groups. Both the STEM ambassador and young STEM leaders programmes are compatible with the Government's ambition in this area. The STEM strategy states the long-term goal of promoting efforts to tackle gender imbalances and other inequalities that exist across STEM education and training should continue apace. Limiting access due to factors such as gender, race, disability, deprivation and geographical location are inherently unfair and continue to undermine our ability to deliver inclusive economic growth in Scotland, and the full benefits of STEM education and training will not be realised until that goal is achieved. My message for today is that women become a STEM ambassador, and girls become a young STEM leader. Ms Adamson, I now call Stephen Kerr to be followed by Jackie Dunbar. I have gradually ordered Nicoll for bringing this motion in. Of course, she is quite right, and I want to frighten Michelle Thompson by telling her that I agreed with every word in her speech. If we do not maximise the talent and productivity of every single Scotland, it is Scotland, it is Scottish business, it is our economy and it is our society that will suffer. It is because I passionately believe in equality of opportunity for everyone that I am a Scottish Conservative. To me, that is what Scottish Conservatism is all about. It is about opportunity and choice in supporting every citizen in realising their full potential and to live the best life that they aspire to live. The debate is not about the principle of increasing the participation of women and girls in STEM as much as it is how to do it. What can we do as parliamentarians to encourage more women and girls across our nation to feel confident that they can unlock their full potential in STEM? First, we need to introduce STEM to children from early years through play. I think that we should let children discover the fascination of STEM, all the different aspects of STEM, let them develop their problem-solving skills, let them build things, let them get dressed up and encourage them to let their imagination and their curiosity run riot. Girls and boys alike, no demarcations, no barriers from the very beginning of their educational experience, let's bring STEM to the table in nurseries, in primary and secondary schools. Let's give our children a vision of all the different kinds of jobs that are in every walk of life, which are STEM-based jobs. We have to make a special effort to remove the barriers that seem to have been placed in the way of girls realising their dreams through STEM. We should have what I would describe as inspirational dissatisfaction about the current level of guidance that we give our young people. If we had our way, the Scottish Conservatives would seriously invest in giving our young people the best possible guidance and mentoring. We live in a digital world, put digital technology in their hands, teach them to boss the technology rather than becoming bossed by it. Let's bring the different stages of a child's educational journey together. I learned a new word this week, courtesy of Sir Peter Matheson, the principal of Edinburgh University, inter-digitisation. I hadn't come across that word before. Partly it means—it's a word that describes what hands we bring our fingers together. He used it in the context of bringing all the different parts of an educational journey together. They need to be brought together. We need to bring employers, colleges and universities that are involved with our children much earlier into their educational journey. For example, guidance should not be left to S3 or S4 or S5—it is too late at that stage—to begin to help our young people, especially our young women, to discover where their passions and interests and aptitudes lie, especially in relation to STEM. Careers in STEM, in artificial intelligence, in the space sector, where we, in Scotland, excel, cannot afford our young people, especially girls and women, to think that career opportunities for those sectors are there but for other people. We cannot afford our young people even to begin to think that their dreams cannot be followed because they do not have the same opportunity as anyone else. We must change the narrative about what is possible for all our young people, men and women alike, and we must tackle the idea that going to university is the only route to success. If we get the inter-digitisation right, then our young people should have more exposure to different businesses, different sectors, colleges and universities. They will begin to see the array, the vast array of opportunities that lie ahead of them and that there is a choice of pathways all of which have equal esteem, whether it be in apprenticeship or professional and technical training qualifications or studying for a qualification at college or university, but the narrative must change because there is a commonly held disparity of esteem and that will not change unless the Scottish Government and all of us supporting the Scottish Government tackles this head-on. I have to say to the minister that the track record of this Government on apprenticeships, on funding colleges and universities leaves much to be desired. Ministers must start listening, they must start to shape policy around the outcomes that we want to see happen and that means making tough choices and setting priorities. We cannot have a deep prioritisation of education because Scotland needs its young people to flourish like never before. The world needs our young people to flourish like never before because we are facing big strategic challenges and it is increasingly to the stem subject areas and to stem-based sectors that we look to for solutions. The Government needs to match its actions with rhetoric, so I hope that the minister in his response will bring new thinking to the role that he is now filling because we need it and if he does and he makes the right choices for Scotland and our young people, we on these benches will back him. We need the full potential of our young people, women and girls, men and boys, to be unleashed, especially in the areas of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. In fact, we have reached a point where I am required, given time issues 2, accept a motion without notice under rule 8.14.3 to extend the debate by up to 30 minutes. The question is that the debate be extended by up to 30 minutes. Are we all agreed? We are all agreed and, on that note, I call Jackie Dunbar. I was going to say that I do not believe that I agree with most of what Stephen Kerr was saying and it will come clear in my speech. Your positive parts, Mr Kerr, I totally agree with in your debate. As the motion states, women and STEM are making important contributions to economic growth and to tackling the climate emergency. That statement applies wherever you are in the world, but in Aberdeen it is something that we need to take particular heed of. Our city has the ambition of becoming the net zero capital of the world. Our journey to being able to call ourselves that will not just involve innovation and new approaches, but also a just transition away from the oil and gas industry that has underpinned our local economy for decades. Women and STEM will have a hugely important role in shaping Aberdeen's future, so we need to support and encourage girls and young women into the STEM sector. When I was discussing this last week, I asked how we encouraged girls and women into the sector, the reply that I received was quick. It was simple and it was not something that I had considered. It was stop stereotyping them. Do not presume that they want to play with dolls. Let them play with their LEGO, their Kinex, their Meccano or whatever it is that their young minds are interested in. It gave me pause for thought. As I remember, at just age two, my client got really upset when she went to a Christmas party at her nursery and Suntie gave her a doll. She was really excited to be allowed to open a present early from Suntie, but she thrust that doll at me when I asked her what she got and said in a really upset tone, I got a dolly, I wanted a tractor. I do not know where that attitude has come from. She could not understand why she got a dolly while the boys got all the cool gifts. As you may guess, that was the last time that my client got a doll from Suntie. Instead, she received a present that expanded her mind and her creativeness. I am proud to say that that client is now a senior OT cybersecurity engineer. I would like to think that some of her success is down to us parents encouraging her to play with what she wanted to play with, no matter if it was classed as gender specific or not. Age-appropriate at all times, of course, Presiding Officer. As I said, we need to encourage women and girls into the STEM sector, and I think that there is a wide recognition of that need. Given the many initiatives that are taking place across Aberdeen, a number of which have already been highlighted by Audrey Nicholl, Maggie Chapman and Pam Gossel earlier on. I will take this opportunity to highlight two more initiatives in Aberdeen that I believe are worthy of praise. First, as we talk about giving opportunities to young women, I want to welcome the work of the Aberdeen University Women in Science and Engineering Society. That is a group of women who have taken those matters into their own hands and who are creating a strong, supportive community of students in STEM and are helping to encourage the next and future generations of women into STEM. Secondly, TechFest. TechFest is a charity based in Aberdeen that aims to promote science, technology, engineering and mathematics activities to young folk and the wider community. They do that work not just across Aberdeen but right across Scotland. Only this year's international day of women and girls in science, they held an event in King's Wells, which is in my Aberdeen Donside constituency, with around 130 pupils from primary school in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire being able to get hands on learning experiences and hearing about careers in STEM. As we consider the so-called leaky pipeline, I am encouraged by initiatives like those and the efforts being made across the STEM sector. There is work still to do but we are on the right track. Let us show our girls that it is okay to do the jobs that they want to do and not the jobs that they think society wants them to do. The more we encourage this, the more we will see the benefit to the STEM sector. We have heard some excellent examples of how we can and must work together to create greater and wider opportunities for women and girls to access STEM, employment, training and education. I am greatly encouraged by what I believe to be a broad consensus right across the chamber on the issue. I have never heard Stephen Kerr so thoughtful and constructive in this chamber, so thank you to Audrey Nicholl for securing this opportunity to explore the topic and see Mr Kerr in a new light. This Government, like many others— Stephen Kerr? Because there is one aspect of this debate that slightly does perturb me and that is the fact that the minister and I are the only male speakers. I honestly believe that this is part of the problem, that women understand what the need is but perhaps not enough men do. Otherwise, we would have had more male speakers encouraging women and encouraging the breakdown of the barriers that exist for women in this very vital sector. Felly, sitting here a few moments ago, I was thinking that very point as well, and it is quite telling. This Government, like many others, has been working hard to try and overcome some of the challenges that we know exist, but there is some way still to go. At a strategic level, we should all be proud that Scotland is a world-class research sector where research discoveries drive the improvements and innovations that help us to reach the economic, societal and environmental aims of our national performance framework and sustainable development goals. That includes those around reaching net zero in schools, and particularly in relation to gender. Our STEM education and training strategy includes support for specific actions by a dedicated team of education professionals who support teachers to challenge stereotyping. The improving gender balance and equality offers have engaged more than 1,000 establishments, which has reached nearly 9,500. Of course, gender imbalance needs to be addressed by a wide range of participants, and every sector has a role to play if we are to reach a position where gender is not considered the main factor that determines a young person's future pathway in life. My colleague Evelyn Tweed mentioned some of the challenges that schools have in tackling some of those areas. Will the minister like to reflect on Tony Scully, a young teacher who was founded Dress Code, which is a specific coding club for girls, now rolled out with industry across Scotland, as an example of how that can be brought into our schools? Perhaps we can share that information with Ms Tweed to see if her schools can reach their ambition in their areas by following that example. Mr Scully has been an illuminating debate because I now discover that queer atoms are the psychic powers as well, because I am just coming to that point. For those learners at school for the past three years, we have provided funding for the Young STEM Weather Award for more than 2,500 young people who have already participated in the scheme right across Scotland. We know that attempting to positively influence career directions for girls should begin from an early age. Opinions about who should do what job can be formed by children from the very formative years influenced by their parents, as well as teachers, for example. Those views can often stay with a young person right through to the end of their school career and beyond. Orderly Nicolle Pam, Gozole Pam, Duncan Glancy and Stephen Kerr were right to highlight the need for work to be done in the early school years setting. Skills Development Scotland recognise that and are taking a cross-sector approach in an attempt to address the issue. However, it is important that we attempt to tackle it by means of a holistic approach. The highlighting of female role models is critical in all that. Not least of all, because we know that many women who have followed STEM pathways have done so because they are following the footsteps of family members. As others have noted, Pam Duncan Glancy in particular, if you do not see people like you in a sector, you are hardly going to be drawn to it and we need to take that on board. Presiding Officer, in amongst the raft of statistics and the rara raft of statistics on this whole situation is one that I found intriguing and worthy of a little further explanation. Between 2019 and 2021, the number of young women taking STEM hires rose from 31,795 to 32,745 at almost 1,000 more entries. Over the same period, the figure for passes among women increased from 23,650 to a peak of 28,135. Both those numbers subsequently declined in 2022 for entries to a number below the 2019 figure and for passes to a point only 650 higher. Interestingly, the improvement covered the Covid period in which continuous assessment, rather than the traditional exam-based approach, was at play. There is a school of thought that, because women are believed traditionally to have less confidence in their abilities in the sphere, the amended alternative certification approach held an appeal for them. As I said earlier, I think that this is something worthy of further exploration as we look to tackle this long-standing issue. On the subject of secondary school settings, can I take the chance to commend the work that is being done at McLaren and Barnettburn High Schools in Evelyn Tweed's constituency? In his report on the Scottish technology ecosystem, Professor Mark Logan talks about the chronic imbalance in computing science at school and the fact that gender role stereotyping removes almost half of our future best engineers from the workforce. There is a variety of examples that I could highlight. Tony Scullian's example is one. In response to Michelle Thomson's comments on digital, YMCA Scotland has supported a programme with codeclan to address recruitment retention and progression of women in STEM, but for all the good intentions and all the great effort, there is still a very long way to go. The stats are sobering. Whilst women comprise 49 per cent of those in employment, only 27 per cent of STEM professionals posts are held by women. In the engineering professions, the figure is 11 per cent. At the outset, there is excellent work going on out there, and I am aware of the contribution of Robert Godd's university. As we look for other best practice, and again, Aberdeen and the surrounding area is where your attention is drawn to, because beyond the work of RGU and others, you look at the North East College and its Girls in Energy programme, which has introduced more than 650 young women into engineering, providing pathways to college, university and apprenticeships, and more than 75 per cent of them have pursued engineering after leaving school. I met some of them on a visit to the Angus training group a little while back, and I was struck by how warmly they spoke of the initiative. I contrasted those conversations with one that I heard with a girl from my constituency who pursued her career path in spite of the educational influences around her, which included her being told by a teacher that engineering was not girls' work and that she might instead consider hair and beauty or childcare. Is it any wonder that we struggle to get young women into this line of work? As we know, apprenticeships are a key way for employers to invest in their workforce, providing the skills needed both now and in the future. Although girls achieve as well as boys in apprenticeships, they participate at a much lower rate. In the acknowledgement of that, Skills Development Scotland has identified a series of practical steps that employers can take to offer a more flexible approach. With colleges, there has been limited progress in improving the gender imbalance at college level. However, it is an illustration of the hill that is yet to be climbed. In 2021, only 2 per cent of starts on construction and related modern apprenticeships were female, but that is not a problem peculiar to Scotland. I thank the minister for taking that intervention. Since he mentioned colleges, I feel that it would be a miss of me not to bring this up. Nearly 60 per cent of students in colleges are women. Is the minister concerned at the redundancies that we are seeing across Scotland in relation to colleges and what does he think his Government can do to protect women from those, as well as others? I think that we were talking about a highly important issue on STEM. The member knows full well that I have concerns about the situation that is causing it, and we have covered that before. That is not a problem peculiar to Scotland. Whilst in the Isle of Wight last week, as part of an island's forums gathering, I visited the local colleges there, the setup was very impressive. Wondring around the engineering area, I have struck that, from a cohort of circa 30, only one woman was present. I await that not to deflect from the issue that is confronting us here in Scotland, but by way of illustration of the fact that no one has yet found a means of cracking this. As the motion for this debate rightly notes, we need to aim for a culture in which women and girls can enjoy and take advantage of the quality of opportunity in STEM. This is an ambition that will take time and patience to fully deliver, but we need to make progress faster. It is clear that we have the support for our ambitions here in Parliament and beyond. As part of my ministerial portfolio, I will work with partners to achieve a common understanding of what actions will deliver sustainable improvement and implement those. As part of that, I am absolutely open to ideas and suggestions from whichever direction they come. Thank you minister. That concludes the debate, and I suspend this meeting until 2.30pm.