Karla Bester explores the structural and cultural barriers that shape who participates in technology and engineering, with a particular focus on girls and young women. Her writing goes beyond surface-level statistics to examine the deeper causes of gender imbalance, including how school experiences, expectations, and systems influence subject choices and career paths.

By reading Karla’s stories, you’ll gain insight into why current approaches such as quotas or one-off programs often fall short, and what meaningful, long-term change could look like. Her work highlights both the economic stakes and the human impact of underrepresentation, and points to practical steps educators, families, organisations and policymakers can take to make technology and engineering more inclusive from the classroom onward.