Women make up only 28% of the workforce in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), and men vastly outnumber women majoring in most STEM fields in college. The gender gaps are particularly high in some of the fastest-growing and highest-paid jobs of the future, like computer science and engineering

While numerous reasons have been advanced to explain gender imbalance in STEM education and careers, the one BRIDGES aims at addressing is the issue of recognition, e.g. the “Matilda Effect” about how women scientists’ contributions can be overlooked or mis-attributed to their male colleagues, the different needs and modalities of recognition between men (who tend to need and receive more) and women, etc.

Based on the seminal work on recognition from authors including Nancy Fraser, Charles Taylor, Axel Honneth in combination with the latest development in digital recognition technologies, such as Open Badges and social networks, BRIDGES aims at exploring the conditions for novel approaches to recognition, more open, more inclusive and more fitting to the social practices of girls and woman (c.f. Deborah Tannen “You Just don’t Understand”, Eckert, Penelope and Sally McConnell-Ginet “Communities of practice: “Where language, gender, and power all live”).

BRIDGES has developed a number of resources and a cMOOC (collaborative MOOC) that will help you and/or your organisation to become WISE, an acronym which means: Women In Stem Empowered.