Young women in Pontypridd Discover their Chemical Potential

26th April 2023

The message during the Discovering your Chemical Potential event in Pontypridd today, was that girls have a wealth of prospects in chemistry.

The event saw Wales’ leading gender equality charity, Chwarae Teg partner with University of South Wales and Royal Society of Chemistry to create ‘Discovering your Chemical Potential’, a programme of resources aimed at encouraging more girls to take up GCSE and A Level Chemistry in school.

120 girls from Years 7 and 8 from Eastern High, Cathays High School, Hawthorn High School, Bryn Celynnog Comprehensive School and Tonyrefail Community School attended the event.

The event particularly focussed on careers in chemistry and the event was opened by Mick Antoniw, Counsel General for Wales, and Member of Senedd for Pontypridd.

The Royal Society of Chemistry employs over 600 staff and is a not-for-profit organisation with a thriving global community of over 45,000 members. The organisation believes that everyone should have access to a high-quality chemistry education that is engaging, stimulating and relevant.

University of South Wales employs 3,500 people and prides itself on training the next generation of scientists, and ensuring they have the skills required to secure meaningful employment in a range of sectors. They regularly host events for girls and women in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) and with the support of funding from the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales (HEFCW), lead the way by establishing the Wales Women in STEM Network in 2019.

 The live event highlighted careers in chemistry, and the attendees took part in activities on the day about forensics, perfumery, crime scene investigation, and various tabletop activities with exhibitors.

The exhibitors on the day included Weber, Catsci, GCRS, Eastman Chemicals and Odonata International Ltd.

Following the event, the girls who attended the event will be invited to media training with ITV Wales to equip them with the interview and media skills to be able to interview chemistry industry experts and create their own online webinar.

There will also be an opportunity for pupils to enter a poster design competition, a resource will also be shared with schools across Wales, helping to inspire other schools to start their own campaigns.

Chwarae Teg wants to give girls the opportunity to explore careers that they might not consider as women, and we are delighted to be working with Royal Society of Chemistry and the University of South Wales to make it happen.

 Our own research has shown that too many career choices continue to be shaped by longstanding gender stereotypes – leading to gender segregation in the workplace and Wales’ persistent gender pay gap. Women are still favouring traditionally female dominated sectors, despite the need for more women in sectors such as STEM which can offer higher salaries and excellent career progression.
Emma Tamplin
Head of Projects and Partnerships, Chwarae Teg