In this talk, Amanda, Amy, and Maria will present their findings on the gender gap in STEM competitions within their high school and propose solutions based on their findings

Amanda Morin is a grade 12 student at the University of Toronto Schools. She is heavily involved in STEM within the school, participating in Envirothon (an environmental competition), and many math and computer science-related contests. Amanda has also tutored younger students in various STEM subjects to increase engagement and interest in STEM. This experience of competing at a high level in STEM and experiencing the lack of female role models or peers within STEM competition encouraged her to begin studying the processes and structures which cause this discrepancy.

Amy Kim is currently in her final year at the University of Toronto Schools. She will be studying computer science next year, and has always had a long-standing interest in and passion for STEM subjects. Amy is especially passionate about the issue of the underrepresentation of women in STEM, particularly within the UTS community, which is what her TEDx talk will be focused on. She hopes to find more opportunities for overlaps between social science research, computer science, and gender equality in university and beyond!

Maria Murray is a grade 12 student at University of Toronto Schools, a part-time barista, and an aspiring journalist. She loves research and is extremely passionate about gender equity, and this year, with the help of a youth Participatory Action Research extra-curricular, she’s found a way to combine them. Along with Amanda Morin and Amy Kim, she's been studying sexism in elective STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) environments at the high school level since September, and can't wait to share their findings.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx