Founders4Schools launched Maths4Girls in September 2019, in partnership with US charity 100 Women In Finance. Maths4Girls aims to inspire and encourage girls, aged 11-14, to take maths beyond GCSE and even the gender playing field at A-levels and university.
Trailblazing role models - women from sectors such as finance, investment and STEM - will come into the classroom, to talk to students about their own journey with maths and clearly link maths in the classroom with maths in the real world. This will encourage all students to see its relevance in the world of work, in order to improve their confidence and attitudes towards maths in school.
2. Agenda
• Introductions
• Who we are
• The Problems We Will Solve
• The Solution
• Where we are now
• Maths4Girls Encounter
• Your Commitment
• Next steps
• Q&A
3. Who we are
• Founders4Schools is an educational technology charity dedicated to improving
the life chances of young people.
• 100 Women in Finance is a global industry association and a US registered
charity for professionals who work in the finance and alternative investment
industries working together to empower women at every stage of their careers.
• The Partnership: Having had our first meeting to brainstorm on programme
ideas in July 2018, Founders4Schools became 100 Women in Finance’s 2019
UK Philanthropic Beneficiary in March 2019.
4. Founders4Schools
“Founders4Schools are experts at
connecting girls with engaging and
successful women in classrooms throughout
the UK. I am delighted that 100 Women
in Finance ambassadors will help them
find their chosen career.”
Sherry Coutu, Founder & Chair
Founders4Schools
5. 100 Women in Finance
“I’m excited by the clear potential of
Maths4Girls. It allows us to do what we do best
– provide finance industry mentors and role
models from 100WF’s membership – while
benefiting from the local programming
expertise that Founders4Schools
consistently delivers.”
Amanda Pullinger, CEO, 100WF
6. Maths4Girls Founder
“Maths is a LANGUAGE. Its the vital language for
every girls’ future career. All business and finance
careers will need Maths – and all STEM,
Architecture, Military, IT and Digital careers. So it’s
very important that all British girls continue to
learn Maths through A levels – to preserve
their future career options
Mina Gerowin, Maths4Girls Founder
7. Problems we will solve
There is an enduring myth that maths is for males
• Only 28% of Further Maths A-Levels were done by girls, despite doing as well as
boys at GCSE
• This limits entry into sectors such as Finance, Investment and STEM
(Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics)
• Maths is a language they will need. It is the language of many careers
• 60% of girls feel maths is for boys! How does that make you feel?
Can you see why our Maths4Girls programme is important?
8. Maths Anxiety Trust
Maths Anxiety has been known about for over 50 years. It is
defined as a negative emotional reaction to maths.
• Shirley Conran OBE, founder of Maths Anxiety Trust
commissioned an Ipsos MORI poll in April 2018 and found
that: 36% of young people (15-24 year-olds) feel anxious
about maths, compared to 10% of older people (65+)
• 20% of adults in Great Britain have felt anxious when
confronted with a mathematical problem 23% of
parents of children aged 5-15 report that their
eldest child often feels anxious when
attempting to solve a maths problem
• 80% of adults have never heard of
‘Maths Anxiety’
10. The Solution
Our volunteers
• Why the people in this room are important and part of the solution
Our timeline
• From August – We’ve been running workshops for volunteers
• From September - Maths4Girls encounters in London schools launched
• Barking and Dagenham Waltham Forest Croydon Lewisham Lambeth Tower Hamlets
• From February - Evaluation and review of programme activities
The Roll out
• From March 2020 – we roll out Maths4Girls across England & Scotland
• We‘ll continue working with partners: Maths Anxiety Trust, DfE
and Advanced Mathematics Support Programme (AMSP).
11. Maths4Girls Encounter
11-14 year old girls in schools
• The sign-up process
• What encounter looks like
• Guidance
• What to avoid in speeches
• What to include
• Resources
15. Maths4Girls Encounter
• 1-3 business leaders will be invited for up to 1 hour
• Talk about your own journey to your amazing career
• Share how you utilise maths at work or home each day
• Give an example of a real problem you have at work
• Conclude with a Q&A session
• Questions on role/ career path/ choices & education led by girls
16. Guidance
• Do not share girls stats that will cause them to feel different
from other girls
• It’ll highlight not many girls do A-levels, or
• If you want to do maths at A-Level you are not like other girls
(Source: Institute of Physics)
• Do not discuss anxiety around maths or other subjects. Sessions should focus on
the positives
17. Guidance
• Do share problems you face everyday in your role
• Do show some maths you do at work (simplified) to take away the 'fear factor’
• Do encourage Growth/ Mastery Mindset (advocated by Carol Dweck)
• I CAN, I WILL
• Developing resilience and the ‘I am not excellent at maths YET’ rather than
‘I can’t do maths’ helps promote achievement in the subject.
• Do make it relevant for their age
• 2000s: Victoria Alonso – The first woman to head up VFX at Marvel
Studios, she’s responsible for VFX from Iron Man to Black Panther
• Ambition video by Maths Anxiety Trust
18. Resources
• Use resources your company
has used successfully to engage
• Skills Builder
• AMSP
• Maths Anxiety Trust
• amightygirl.com/blog?p=23086
• Work finder
• Growth mindset
19. Your commitment
• What you can expect
• Maths4Girls events will last on average 1 hour
• You decide whether you are able to attend
• Please try to attend 2 events per year
• Invitation to other encounter types eg. Role model
• You decide whether you wish to attend
• Ask a friend to sign up and volunteer for Maths4Girls too
20. F4S Encounter: Student
“I found the day very helpful and it was also helpful to
talk to different people from different backgrounds and jobs.
This gave me a good idea as to what I need to do to get
into the job I want. I didn't think that there were any
disadvantages to the day”.
15 year old student, Kingsthorpe College, East Midlands
21. F4S Encounter: Educator
“Inspires young people by helping them see
what is possible and it is a useful tool to
bridge the gap between school
and the world of work”
Harris Academy Purley, South Croydon
22. F4S Encounter: Volunteer
“This is exactly the kind of thing I would have wanted when
I was at school, giving pupils a proper context for why certain
subjects are useful and how they can fit into a working
environment... starting earlier can make a huge impact. The
students had great questions and wanted real-life situations to
help them understand... a great experience.
Emilie Kelly, The Leadership Factory
