US Businesses Breaking Barriers for Women in STEM Careers

Niamh O’Riordan Engineering Senior Manager, PepsiCo Ireland

As technology advances and the world becomes more digitally connected, the need for STEM-educated professionals is growing. Many US businesses operating in Ireland require employees from a vast range of STEM disciplines to fill technical and lab-based roles.

Now more so than ever, encouraging female STEM careers and education is fundamentally important. This support will address the talent gap while ensuring a diverse and talented STEM workforce, preventing biases in these fields.

Barriers Faced and Inspiring the Future Workforce

Barriers in education, particularly access to technical subjects, pose significant challenges for women in STEM. A recent survey carried out by IWISH (Oct ’23) found that Transition Year girls are reporting a lack of information on STEM careers and college courses. It is important for US businesses such as PepsiCo to encourage and inspire more women into STEM disciplines by sponsoring STEM education initiatives. PepsiCo Ireland is actively involved with multiple STEM educational programs, one being IWISH, an Ireland based community committed to showcasing the power of STEM to teenage girls.

Encourage Female Stem Talent Through Establishing Mentors and Role Models

Providing mentorship programs that focus on recognising and nurturing women’s natural technical inclinations as well as teaching them the softer skills, such as resilience and self-promotion, is very important. Representation matters and PepsiCo Ireland runs a mentorship program for university students and early-career employees so that they can witness first-hand our female colleagues in STEM fields at all levels throughout our organisation. If women can see others like them developing successfully in these fields, they are more likely to see themselves having a future in STEM. In 2023, we were the main sponsors of the inaugural Women in STEM Awards in Dublin, where our very own Brid Nolan won an award in the technology category. Opportunities like these show our prospective workforce that we support and recognise our female STEM employees.

Promote a Positive Culture

One of PepsiCo Positive’s end to end transformation strategies promotes a culture that values diversity and inclusion.

Actions such as adopting diversity-building initiatives are helping develop, empower, and retain female employees. It forms an integral part of creating a positive work environment and gives employees the chance to contribute to meaningful goals. Our WIN (Women’s Inclusion Network) employee resource group was also developed to support female employees and male allies with different internal education sessions and ‘lunch and learns’ organised frequently.

Women make up 50% of Ireland’s population and encouraging more women into STEM careers will help redress the gender balance, bring diverse perspectives, and lead to innovative problem solving. An inclusive workplace enhances employee satisfaction, engagement, and retention, contributing to a more positive company culture overall.

Women in STEM Awards, Oct 2023, PepsiCo colleagues and Brid Nolan, IT Manager PepsiCo Ireland, winner of the Technology category.