The best scholarships around the world for Women in STEM
The best scholarships around the world for Women in STEM
With accessibility and inclusivity being at the heart of more workplaces looking to foster a more balanced and diverse world, more companies and organisations are offering scholarships to help more women enter and excel in STEM careers around the world.
According to data from the UN Scientific Education and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), less than 30% of the world’s researchers are women, and only 30% of female students select STEM-related fields in higher education. With this in mind, when it comes to STEM, in an area driven by curiosity, openness, and searching for better outcomes, increasing the number of women in STEM is only a good thing for organisations and societies. For example, in Caroline Criado Perez’s Invisible Women, it was found that women are 47% more likely to be seriously injured in a car accident because of how the car is designed. Not because women were purposely being excluded in the design process, but because they were not being thought about.
To kick off with some of the most notable scholarships around the world, we have written a list of some of the best opportunities for women in STEM, to help move towards a fairer, more inclusive world.
National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship Program (US)
This prestigious fellowship supports outstanding graduate students in STEM fields in the US to help ensure the quality and vitality of the scientific and engineering workforce of the U.S. While not exclusively for women, the programme provides three years of financial support and encourages applications from women, minorities, and persons with disabilities.
Felix Scholarship (UK)
The Felix scholarship has been supporting outstanding students from India at Oxford since 1991. The scholarship is designed to enable outstanding students from India to pursue graduate studies at the University of Oxford, The University of Reading and the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. Whilst this is not limited to Women in STEM, the annual scholarships cover 100% of course fees. You can find more information on the Felix Scholarship website.
The Society of Women Engineers (SWE) Scholarship Program (US)
Open to those who identify as a woman, SWE scholarships support women who want to pursue an ABET-accredited bachelor or graduate student programme in engineering, engineering technology and other fields relating to engineering globally.
Expanding out to now offer scholarships in India, the scholarships help to improve the numbers of women wanting to pursue bachelor and graduate programmes in STEM. In 2023, tSWE disbursed over 330 new and renewed scholarships valued at more than $1,500,000!
For more information and future application dates, you can read more on their website.
Google Women Techmakers (EU, Middle East, Africa)
We’d be surprised to complete a list of scholarships without finding one from one of the biggest tech companies in the world, Google.
Google’s Women Techmakers is designed to provide resources, visibility, and community for women in technology. Outside of this, The Generation Google Scholarship is a scholarship for women in computer science. The scholarship was established to help students studying for computer science degrees to excel in technology and become leaders in the field.
The application process and eligibility requirements can be found on Google’s Build your future website.
Microsoft Women's Fellowship Program (US):
We’ve mentioned Google’s scholarships and now it’s Microsoft’s turn. Microsoft Women’s Fellowship Program offers fellowships for women and non-binary women to help break into the technology industry. Open to high school seniors, the scholarship offers seven one-off awards worth $5,000 and is open to those who identify as women. Successful applicants need to be planning to enroll full-time in a technology, engineering, maths, or computer science undergraduate study in the U.S.
You can read more about Microsoft’s opportunities to help increase diversity in tech here.
AAUW (American Association of University Women) Career Development Grants (US)
For women who hold a bachelor’s degree and are looking to change careers, advance, or reenter the workforce in health and medical sciences; science, technology, engineering, and maths, Career Development Grants are available to provide funding to do so.
They encourage and primarily consider women of colour and pursuing their first advanced degree, or credentials in nontraditional fields. All applicants must be U.S. citizens and the award amounts ranges from $2,000 to $20,000.
WISE Scholarships (UK)
To date, the tech industry has traditionally been a male-domainated industry. To try and address the lack of gender, racial, and ethnic diversity within the industry, WISE offers scholarships to women in the UK to help battle the underrepresentation that is sadly still so rife in the industry (and others).
University of Greenwich (UK)
In partnership with the British Council, the University of Greenwich is offering a scholarship for 5 women to study a master level degree in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths for the 2024/2025 academic year.
The fully funded scholarship exists to help improve the chances of women to reach positions of leadership, and facilitate more networking with their peers. This scholarship runs annually and is a good introduction for women looking to get into STEM and develop their careers within it.
By educating, training, including, and hiring more women in STEM, there can be a better chance of more inclusive and safer outcomes. The workplace within STEM can become a more diverse, varied, and competitive space where a number of different perspectives, ideas, and thought processes can be factored in, as well as reducing the risk of tunnel vision.