Inspiring girls to shape their world through STEM
Pretty Curious aims to inspire teenage girls to imagine a future where they use STEM – science, technology, engineering and maths - to help make a difference.
Our programme of activities aims to change the perception of STEM subjects and address the reasons girls are being put off. We want to open their eyes to the varied career opportunities available if they pursue STEM subjects at school and beyond.
Future Me
Jump into our 360° virtual reality film and discover the possibilities with STEM subjects. Design your own Future Me avatar and find out how your passion could become your dream job with the career quiz.
About the Pretty Curious programme
Could your child's passion become their career?
Is your child interested in science, technology, engineering, or maths but you're not sure what it could mean for them? We’ve created a fun quiz to help you find out how their passions could become a full-time career.
Inspiring the next generation to embrace STEM in Scotland
Proud to sponsor Edinburgh Science Festival
EDF’s partnership with the festival forms part of the company’s wider commitment to education in Scotland, and across the UK. We're committed to inspiring the next generation to embrace science, technology, engineering and maths.
Why Pretty Curious is so important
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source [4]The numbers
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Source [2]The numbers
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Source [3]The numbers
Reaching undiscovered STEM talent
Currently just one in four people working in Core STEM today in the UK is a female [4]. This means there is a pool of undiscovered STEM talent.
We're hoping to increase our intake of female STEM graduates and apprentices to 30% by 2018. This is an ambitious target, and one we're committed to dedicating resources and programmes, like Pretty Curious, to reach.
Getting girls interested in STEM will not just help us reach our targets but could also help avoid a STEM workforce shortage in years to come.
Other ways we're helping get young people into STEM
Inspired to learn
Work with us
Sources
[1] Institution of Engineering & Technology (IET), 2015
[2] The national average of women starting engineering apprentices in 2014/15 was 3.4% (down from 3.8% in 2013/14). Skills Funding Agency, Apprenticeship Achievements by framework code, level and gender 2002/3-2014/15.
[3] Women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics: The Talent Pipeline from Classroom to Boardroom, July 2015
[4] 1 in 4 people working in Core STEM:
Between 2016 and 2017, the proportion of women in Core STEM roles (as defined below) increased from 21% to 23% ; the highest proportion ever (WISE, 2017). In 2017, 61,430 more women were in Core STEM roles.
As a result, we have amended text in our communications from ‘1 in 5’ to ‘1 in 4’ to reflect this positive trend.
“The statistic published by EDF Energy is calculated using Standard Occupational Classification data produced by the Office of National Statistics. There is no single agreed method of defining which occupations should be classified as STEM / Non STEM (UKCES*, 2013). Furthermore, UKCES (2013) differentiate occupations as Medical and Core STEM, a distinction also recognised and adopted by Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) in 2016. As a business in the energy sector, it is these ‘core’ occupations that we can have the greatest impact on with our campaigns and initiatives and have chosen to use the statistics compiled by WISE.
In 2016 EDF Energy decided to reflect WISE’s approach of defining Core STEM occupations as those comprised of “science, engineering, and ICT professionals; science, engineering and ICT technicians and related occupations” (WISE, 2016; UKCES, 2015). See the list of occupational codes that are included in the calculations. These have been compiled by WISE in 2016, utilising UKCES input (2015).
Sources:
Office for National Statistics (2016) – Dataset: EMP04 - Employment by Occupation.
UKCES (July 2015) - Reviewing the requirement for high level STEM skills; Evidence Report 94 (PDF).
UKCES (November 2013) – The Supply and Demand for High-Level STEM Skills; Evidence Report 77 (PDF).