An award-winning UK social enterprise led by Dr Anne-Marie Imafidon MBE, the Stemettes work to inspire and support girls, young women and non-binary young people into Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths careers.
To kick-off the partnership with Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix later this month, the Student to Stemette programme will match young women from low socio-economic and minority ethnic backgrounds with experienced Mercedes F1 engineers for a four-month mentoring programme, designed to support, guide and encourage their STEM journey.
Dr Anne-Marie Imafidon MBE, Co-founder and CEO of Stemettes said: “We are very excited to be partnering with Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix to motivate and inspire today’s generation of young women and non-binary young people to enter the world of STEM. We know from eight years of work how important mentoring support and advice is for mentees and are looking forward to starting our programmes this month with the enthusiastic employees at Mercedes F1. I very much hope that our work together will encourage more young people to choose STEM subjects and enter STEM industries in the future.”
Through workshops, events and learning experiences, the Stemettes have worked with more than 50,000 young people aged 5-25 across the UK and Ireland since 2013 to inspire the next generation and ignite their passion for STEM subjects. With women making up only 24% of the UK’s core STEM workforce1, the organisation is working to enable all young people to make informed decisions about STEM careers with the aim of women eventually being proportionally represented in the field.
Forming part of the team’s Accelerate 25 initiative, a five-year programme announced in December 2020 to mark the formalisation of our vision to become a more diverse and inclusive team, our partnership with the Stemettes will empower our employees to celebrate inclusion and give them the opportunity to mentor and inspire, as well as boosting the diversity of the team’s talent pipeline.
In July, 10 young women will also join the Stemettes Certification Academy, a one-week online STEM programme including inspirational sessions with Mercedes F1 employees and leading to an industry recognised qualification.
Paul Mills, Chief People Officer at Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd commented: “I am delighted that our partnership with the Stemettes has now begun and we are excited to get underway and start our first programme together. Mercedes F1 and the Stemettes share the same aims; to encourage, enthuse and build confidence in young women and support them as they consider STEM as part of their education and career. As a team, we are committed to increasing the diversity of our new recruits and I very much hope that some of the young people that we work with on the Stemettes programmes will consider us as an employer in the future. Equally, our current employees are showing great enthusiasm for the project and I know many are looking forward to sharing the fulfilment and enjoyment they experience in their chosen careers with the Stemettes students, whilst also developing skills themselves through the mentoring programmes and doing something a little different from their day job. We look forward to working closely with the Stemettes, learning more about their experiences and the STEM challenge, and seeing what more we can do to support.”
Photographs by Stemettes.