TWO West Cork women were among 11 UCC students recently presented with scholarships as part of the Johnson & Johnson Ireland Women in Stem awards scheme.
Niamh McGrath from Bandon received her scholarship recently.Jennifer McCarthy from Kinsale and Niamh McGrath from Bandon were applicants for the scheme which is now in its fourth year at UCC, providing the recipients with extensive industry mentoring and leadership training.
The programme underlines Johnson & Johnson’s commitment to developing and implementing high-impact strategies to support female students undertaking Stem-related degree courses at UCC and in universities around the world.
Currently, there are approximately 117,800 people across Ireland who are working in jobs that require engineering and scientific skills.
However, the CSO reports that just 25% of these roles are performed by women, with just 5% in leadership roles.
Whilst there has been a general upswing in the number of students choosing science, technology, engineering and maths (Stem) subjects on their CAO applications, uptake among females remains low.
Jennifer McCarthy is studying biochemistry and Niamh McGrath is studying financial maths and actuarial science.
