Empowering girls’ futures: How research and innovation is changing STEM

What helps change girls’ attitudes towards STEM? This session shares new insights from IRIS’s Research & Innovation Framework, a project with schools across the UK that tackled STEM stereotypes through student-led inquiry and inclusive design. Discover what worked, hear student stories, and join the conversation about how we can change STEM for good. Despite decades of effort, girls remain underrepresented in STEM education and careers. IRIS has recently piloted a Research & Innovation (R&I) Framework with secondary schools across England, supporting them to embed research-led learning and challenge exclusionary STEM cultures. This session, led by the Head of Research and Evaluation at IRIS draws on statistical data and narratives — and proposes new ideas for what really works. Schools involved in the pilot used the framework to deliver activities that gave girls greater agency, visibility and opportunity within STEM. This included launching research clubs, holding assemblies and workshops that featured women in STEM, and providing mentoring and hands-on experiences. These approaches had a tangible effect on girls' sense of belonging in STEM, their confidence and aspirations. The session will also include space for delegates to reflect on their own contexts and contribute to the ongoing development of this work — helping shape a future where girls can see themselves as part of STEM. Outcomes for Participants - by the end of this session, participants will: - Understand how IRIS’s R&I Framework impacted girls' STEM attitudes - Gain practical ideas for supporting girls through inclusive, research-led approaches - Consider how these insights can shape their own schools, programmes or policy work - Contribute to a national conversation about evidence-based gender equity in STEM