Wanted: mentors for Canberra's best young female Curious Minds

As a woman, and a woman of colour, Meena Sritharan knew she was expected to follow in the footsteps of her mother and her aunts – and become a teacher or an accountant.

But she knew her passion was going to take her on a different path. For as long as she could remember, she wanted to be an environmental scientist. Not the most traditional path, she said, for a young woman whose parents hailed from Sri Lanka.

Now Dr Sritharan PhD, a plant ecologist at the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment, has turned her attention to helping young women break through their own barriers.

She has become a coach for Curious Minds, a program that helps girls from remote and regional communities, Indigenous, Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) and disadvantaged backgrounds pursue studies and careers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects.

“For me, it was an opportunity to give back,” she said. “I started working with Curious Minds last year … there was a call-out through the ANU [Australian National University] for mentors.

“I was very lucky to have a mentor when I was in year 9. She was my geography teacher and she showed me, and all the other young girls, about the opportunities for us out there.”

Dr Sritharan said her teacher helped her “spiral myself forward” to follow her dreams. “I guess I was a little rogue for not wanting to follow a more traditional career for women, but she encouraged me to do something I was passionate about.”

She believed she could help today’s young women live their passion because she’d been through it herself and importantly, learnt how to “play to your strengths”.

“It is so important to pursue what you want in a world where everyone is telling you what to do.

“I wanted to become a coach as I believe ‘seeing what you can be’ plays a key role in pursuing our goals, especially as a woman and a woman of colour. I still have yet to see people who look like me in our field and now recognise that I want to be a role model for others to pursue a career that might not seem as fathomable now.”

Curious Minds program director Kelsie Dadd said during the six-month program, starting in December, coaches would mentor girls in years 9 and 10, providing a first-hand perspective on the opportunities available in STEM disciplines.

“ANU will open its doors and its labs to high school girls with an aptitude and interest in STEM so they can meet and learn from women working in the field and explore some of the amazing roles available to them,” Dr Dadd said.

“It’s an incredible opportunity and getting as many Canberra women on board as mentors as possible will make it an even more rewarding experience for the students.”

Curious Minds is delivered by not-for-profit organisation Australian Science Innovations and the Australian Maths Trust on behalf of the Federal Department of Education. Curious Minds program partner ANU will host students and coaches at a winter education camp in July 2024.

“The saying, ‘you can’t be what you can’t see’ is particularly apt when it comes to girls who often give up studying STEM subjects at school, even if they enjoy them, because they lack female role models and can’t see where it might take them,” Dr Dadd said.

Australia’s Chief Scientist and Curious Minds patron, Dr Cathy Foley, said it was important programs such as Curious Minds continued to work on closing the gender gap.

“Science impacts every aspect of our lives,” she said. “Some of the biggest problems that will need to be solved in the future have science at their heart, from climate change and clean energy supply to global health challenges. It’s critical that more young women pursue science careers.

“We need a bigger STEM workforce and we also need more diversity if we’re going to successfully tackle these challenges. This can only happen if we provide the right pathways for girls to reach their full potential, and that’s where mentors come in.”

Coaches and students can register for the 2023-24 Curious Minds intake online.

Registrations close 28 September, 2023.