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Tackling demographic disparities in STEM is crucial to the success of any business
When I was at school, if you had told me that I would become the leader of a tech business, I would never have believed you.
My first job was in marketing within the Telecom sector at T-Mobile. I gradually began taking up more commercial roles at big retail brands such as Carphone Warehouse and John Lewis, running tech and product teams. The digital element of the job I found particularly interesting as I saw first-hand how tech platforms influence and evolve consumer habits, and over time, developed a skill for understanding and solving problems. It’s through this experience that I honed my approach to always put the audience front and centre when developing products; a philosophy I apply everyday in my role at Just Eat today.
My own transition into a career in STEM taught me that career paths are rarely linear, and having a varied background can be a real asset. A diverse workforce is crucial to the success of any business. Without varied perspectives, we fail to see the whole picture, or come to the best solution.
We still have a way to go in breaking down demographic disparities in the workplace. Just Eat’s own research has found that more than half of young people have not considered pursuing a career in STEM, with less than half believing that a career in STEM is achievable for them.
Our findings also reveal a clear gender divide, with less than a third of young women considering a STEM career compared to almost half of young men. People from ethnic minority backgrounds were more likely to say they did not feel represented in STEM careers, with 49 per cent of young Black and Asian people saying that there are few people working in STEM that are like them, compared to 44 per cent of young White people.
If we can’t provide equal opportunities or inspire and educate young people about a career in STEM, then we will struggle to solve some of the most challenging business problems facing us today.
At Just Eat, tech skills are the driving force behind our platform, enabling us to deliver our company mission of empowering everyday convenience for our customers. As a tech business, we know we have a key role to play in encouraging people to consider taking up a career in STEM. With over 700 product and technology roles in the UK, we offer a variety of routes into the industry, including a data upskilling accelerator in partnership with Multiverse and a global early careers programme for tech talent, with roles available in the UK.
This year, we’re celebrating the 6th anniversary of Just Eat’s global STEM programme, which has seen the business engage with more than 200 STEM Ambassadors and reach over 10,000 young people annually across a number of markets. We’ve also sponsored Color in Tech’s Black Tech Fest to inspire more young Black students to pursue a career in tech, mentoring students from underrepresented backgrounds in partnership with Career Accelerator, and worked with Code First Girls to educate female students about technology.
We want to do our bit to help break down gender biases and promote social mobility. But we know there’s still a long way to go, and it’s the responsibility of the whole tech community to ensure we deliver social change. To anyone looking to explore a career in STEM, my advice would be to move into different areas of business and really harness your skills. See your experiences as your secret weapon; you never know where they could take you.
Authors
Claire Pointon
Claire Pointon, Managing Director at Just Eat UK, has a wealth of commercial experience in customer strategy, brand innovation and marketing, most recently at John Lewis where she led the customer function, both digitally and in store. Claire has also previously held executive level and senior positions at a number of multinational companies including Dixons Carphone, Kerry Foods and Deutsche Telekom.