Girls, Women and Drones

The drone industry is the fastest-growing sector within aviation, but it also faces a significant challenge: the shortage of women in its workforce. According to FAA data, as of year-end 2022 only 7.9% of remote pilots in the United States are women, and the representation of women pilots in commercial aviation is about the same at 6%. This is well below the national average for female participation in STEM industries of around 25%.

This gender gap not only limits the potential of the industry, but also deprives it of the benefits of diversity, such as increased creativity, productivity, and profitability.

The drone industry in the USA is projected to create an additional 100,000 1  jobs over the next decade, with the majority of these jobs requiring STEM skills. These are jobs and opportunities that our girls and young women of today will miss out on if we do not address the systemic challenges limiting the opportunities, they are provided in schools right now to gain critical STEM skills.

There are many factors that contribute to the underrepresentation of women in the drone industry, such as lack of awareness, role models, mentorship, and support networks. Some women may also face stereotypes, biases, and discrimination that discourage them from pursuing careers in aviation, which are also endemic across all STEM fields.

One of the critical areas that this project addresses is the unconscious bias and self-selecting out of STEM subjects and opportunities by young girls. Research has shown that the unconscious bias around job selection and a child's self-belief on what they can do begins as early as elementary school. We need to have diverse role models for STEM careers in the diverse classrooms of our elementary schools, so our girls and other marginalized groups can ‘see it, so they can dream of being it’.

This problem is systemic and requires a holistic approach of increasing student confidence, giving them the ability to ‘see it, so they can be it; increasing teacher capability, so they have to the tools to identify the barriers to girls engagement in STEM, along with the resources to engage students; and the connection with industry so that clear career pathways are provided, with strong role models and mentors engaged throughout.

Without an integrated approach to this systemic problem, and delivery of piecemeal solutions, the journey from elementary school to the workforce will be fragmented for the target participants, and barriers will remain at various stages.

If we do not address this challenge, then the critical shortage of talent in the drone industry (and aviation more broadly) will have an impact not only on the growth and innovation of this sector, but also widen the gender pay gap in this industry as women are once again excluded from the highly paid technical roles that require STEM skills.

Women and Drones has partnered with She Maps, an Australian based social enterprise with global reach to support schools and teachers to increase the number of girls engaged in STEM, whilst providing strong connections with the US drone and aviation industry.

This project, through collaboration, will scale existing successful programs, particularly targeting female students in schools and communities that sit below the median on the index of socio-economic status.

The She Maps Theory of Change and Partnering for Purpose model is used as the central framework for implementation, as it has been used with success in Australia to address similar challenges around diversity in STEM. It has three distinct but interconnected zones, with key outcomes to be achieved in each zone, as explained further below.

Confidence Zone:

We increase the participation, development, and leadership of girls and women in STEM by providing female only programs in schools and the community, using drones as a teaching tool to engage students:

• We prioritize girls participation in school STEM programs giving them the confidence to step forward, not back from the opportunity.
• We are prioritizing female role models from the drone and aviation industry to support resources for the programs, so girls can see it, so they can be it.

Capability Zone: We increase the awareness and understanding of the barriers to participation of girls in STEM education by conducting teacher professional learning workshops, which use drones as a tool to engage students in STEM learning:

• We conduct teacher professional learning that address the barriers girls face in being successful in STEM subjects.
• We provide teachers with practical hands-on workshops and curriculum aligned resources to bring drones into their schools as a valuable teaching tool, giving them the confidence that they can teach it.
• We engage with existing STEM engagement providers in schools and communities to ensure that our program has sustainability.

Connection Zone: We provide broader and stronger networks and support for girls in STEM education:

• We link diverse aviation industry professionals into all levels of the framework, ensuring all students can see someone who looks like them.
• We work with industry associations to provide clear career pathways that show girls and their families the opportunities available.
• We work with industry to increase the awareness and implementation of diversity and inclusion actions that have a material impact on retention of diverse talent.

By implementing the Partnering for Purpose model, with all three levels connected and working to remove the barriers highlighted in the career progression pipeline in the 2021 UAS/AAM Industry Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Survey, this will:

• Have a long-term impact of increasing the number of women in the aviation workforce; and
• Build a stronger connection between all project partners and industry for program sustainability beyond the grant.

The target population is girls in Grades 5-12 as we aim to provide them with the confidence that a career in STEM, and the drone and aviation industry is a career choice that they can consider.

 As described in the Partnering for Purpose model, whilst students are at the center of impact, teachers and industry support the successful outcomes for the project.

 We have an existing network of teachers, schools, and STEM engagement providers who will be engaged as part of the initial roll out of the project. We will have a specific focus on areas where programs can be sustained for an extended period. This means that the following must be in place:

• Strong support from the school leadership to implement the program.
• At least two teachers from the school who can be engaged and can support each other.
• Industry role models who can support the teachers and school.

Existing community STEM organizations and school STEM associations will be engaged through the project to support the implementation and delivery of the project. These groups already have a strong connection to their communities and schools, so understand how best to engage.

This framework for engagement has been developed and implemented in Australia by She Maps at a national scale and ensures sustainability of the capability within schools and communities once the project funding is spent.

Women & Drones is an internationally known for profit organization known for its ability to implement initiatives to address the broad array of women business needs while also delivering quality education covering kindergarten to career.

Started in 2017 by Sharon Rossmark, Women and Drones has grown to connect with women in 22 countries including starting a chapter in Africa and delivering events across the United States. The organization is recognized for helping to create a more inclusive and diverse drone industry. At a macro level it is routinely called upon to provide expert commentary on the role of industry corporations in reshaping the aviation industry and on the importance of a work environment where women can thrive. Women and Drones LLC is a trailblazer in the drone industry and is making significant strides in empowering women to become leaders in this exciting and rapidly growing field.

At a micro level Women and Drones provides female flight crews for its educational workshops.

She Maps is an internationally recognized social enterprise, based in Australia and established in 2017. Its core mission in to increase the diversity in the STEM workforce, and it uses drones and real-world problems to engage students. She Maps is co-founded by Dr Karen Joyce, a globally recognized remote sensing scientist, who uses drones in her teaching and research, and Paul Mead, a strategic business and education leader.

Its face-to-face programs have been run over 450 times, with over 8000 students where more than 60% of the participants have been female. The curriculum aligned resources have been used and downloaded over 100,000 times by teachers around the world to build their confidence and capability in using drones and diversity in STEM tools in their classrooms. Their programs are used in 12 countries by its Education Partners, with the She Maps education teams support to create impact in local communities by local providers.

Since 2017 both organizations have proven unequivocally that we can engage, educate, and empower girls and women to stand up and be counted.

In 2022, She Maps also partnered with STEAM Thru Drones, a Georgia, USA based STEM education organization who is trained in using the She Maps program in their school and community engagement activities. STEAM Thru Drones will be a delivery partner for this project, and work with schools and community groups in Georgia as one of the initial target sites.

The She Maps programs have been run over 450 times, with over 8000 students. The curriculum aligned resources have been used and downloaded over 100,000 times by teachers around the world to build their confidence and capability in using drones and diversity in STEM tools in their classrooms.

We are applying for this challenge for three reasons:

1. It will provide us with a network of support and resource partners to bring a globally successful STEM engagement program to the USA, and scale it. Without this support we would not be able to develop the level of impact fast enough, to increase female engagement in the drone and aviation industry required to meet workforce demands.

2. The exposure gained through the challenge will increase the number of industry partners and education partners we are able to bring on board. This will increase the speed towards financial sustainability, whilst also increasing impact outcomes across a larger target audience.

3. The financial support will enable a kick start for the program in the USA to fund initial critical activities to enroll industry partners, schools and community groups.  

The CEO Sharon Rossmark is actively involved in the sessions supporting their motto “if you can see me, you can be me.” She engages and interacts with the communities and proactively participates in the sessions. She has personally participated and led workshops for community organizations such as the Girl Scouts, YWCA, and libraries.

We believe that the right solutions are already out there to solve the challenges of female participation in the STEM workforce. What is required is partnerships to bring these solutions together and have a sustainable impact in local communities.

This is why we have been working with She Maps to find ways to bring their innovative solution to the USA at scale.

As mentioned previously, She Maps has been working on the problem of diversity in the STEM workforce since 2017. They found drones to be a simple yet engaging tool to bring real world problems, and emerging technology into the classrooms. They use microdrones which are relatively low cost and can be used to mimic real world applications of larger drones, therefore giving students an insight to the problems they can be used to solve, rather than simply a STEM based toy with no real learning objectives.

She Maps also has developed a holistic framework to engage students, teachers, and industry in the solution. This innovative approach means that there is longer term sustainability in the impact, as not one person or group is charged with its implementation and sustainment. This decentralized approach of partnership is innovative in a traditionally siloed approach to STEM program delivery.

For the women owned companies, we’re the only ones working to scale operations to impact women owned businesses by addressing the multitude of small business needs specific to the industry.

This is explained in more depth in a below question with our theory of change for this project. The short and medium term outcomes for this project however are:

Medium term outcomes

• Youth from diverse backgrounds are emerging as role models for younger students to embrace STEM skills.
• Local partners have developed a sustainable delivery model.
• Drone and aviation companies and organizations have active diversity and inclusion policies.

Short term outcomes

• Local partners, schools, and teachers are fully localizing the training, professional learning, and resources.
• Youth are using their new STEM knowledge and skills obtained through the program in practice.
• Increased and sustained engagement of students and youth who identify as girls or non-binary in the programs.
• Increased connection between youth and geospatial professionals are being made.

Four priority areas for this project have been identified to help organize and assess the extent to which the project has influenced change in the participants perceptions, action/behaviors, teaching practices, and industry discussion around a diverse workforce for the drone and aviation industry.

 Priority Area 1: Visible Role Models

 This priority area is concerned with whether the drone and aviation industry is raising the visibility of diverse women, doing diverse jobs within the industry into schools and the community, for easy interpretation by school aged students.

Intended project outcome:

A diverse range of role models with diverse job roles, are provided to schools in a consistent manner connected to key project messages

 Guiding question:

• To what extent do the project participants (students, teachers, and community members) have an amplified visibility of diverse role models in the industry?

Success indicators:

• Number of diverse role models from industry engaged in the program
• Volume and content of unprompted written feedback

Priority Area 2: STEM Education

This priority area is concerned with creating cooperative safe spaces and girls only experiences, providing opportunities to develop spatial reasoning skills.

Intended project outcome:

• The project interactions increases girls' knowledge about possible drone and aviation careers, and that their perception is that STEM and drone and aviation careers are interesting and achievable.

 Guiding question:

• To what extent do girls feel empowered and inspired to pursue a range of STEM subjects, and explore STEM career opportunities after engagement with the project?

Success indicators:

• Girls’ engagement in STEM activities in the classroom and in volunteering for extension or extra curricular activities.

Priority Area 3: Teacher Capability

This priority area is concerned with increasing teacher capability to create gender neutral learning spaces and learning opportunities, through the development of professional learning and resources for STEM skills that challenge stereotypes, and show diverse role models.

Intended project outcome:

• Teachers support the project messaging and provide practical opportunities for girls to explore and develop their STEM interests.

Guiding question:

• How are teachers employing the messaging, learnings, and resources from the project to provide opportunities for girls to develop STEM interests and experience?

Success indicators:

• Teacher confidence in using the program resources in the classroom at the conclusion of the professional learning opportunities.

Priority Area 4: Drone and Aviation Careers

This priority area is concerned with the extent to which the project activities increase participant awareness of the opportunities and diverse roles available within the drone and aviation industry, and the connections with STEM learning at school.

Intended project outcome:

As a result of interaction with the project, girls and non-binary students perceive STEM and drone and aviation careers as interesting, feasible, and sustainable.

Guiding question:

• How has the project influenced participants perceptions of attractiveness of STEM and drone and aviation careers?

Success indicators:

• Student participants have a positive view of STEM subjects at school and understand the career opportunities.

This program has a defined theory of change already mapped out including: Outputs, short, medium and long term goals, and impacts.

Impact

The drone and aviation industry has access to the full pool of diverse talent, and is able to meet its workforce demand.

Long term outcomes

• School leavers are entering a gender diverse drone and aviation industry, where women and non-binary people represent 50% of the workforce.
• Schools and partners have a sustainable, local partnerships with drone and aviation industry professionals to support workforce pathways.

Medium term outcomes

• Youth from diverse backgrounds are emerging as role models for younger students to embrace STEM skills.
• Local partners have developed a sustainable delivery model.
• Drone and aviation companies and organizations have active diversity and inclusion policies.

Short term outcomes

• Local partners, schools, and teachers are fully localizing the training, professional learning, and resources.
• Youth are using their new STEM knowledge and skills obtained through the program in practice.
• Increased and sustained engagement of students and youth who identify as girls or non-binary in the programs.
• Increased connection between youth and geospatial professionals are being made.

Outputs

• Increased number of Certified She Maps Instructors.
• Increased number of youth and student programs delivered in conjunction with our Partners.
• Increased number of teachers supported to increase their capability with using the technology in their classroom.
• Increased number of youth and students who identify as girls or non-binary being given access to our STEM program.
• Increased engagement of diverse role models from the geospatial community are involved in the program.

The solution uses microdrones as its core tool for engagement. However what powers the solutions are the networks and partnerships we create with schools, teachers, industry, and other STEM providers.

Women and Drones

FT: 1

PT: 3

Contractors: 6

She Maps

FT: 5

PT: 2

Contractors: 3

We have been building out our various initiatives to address “fueling the emerging aviation talent pipeline since 2017.”

Our leadership team (FT, PT and Contractors) is comprised of:

• Women and men from Gen-Z, Millennials, and Baby Boomers.
• We have both women and men on our leadership team.
• Our racial backgrounds include: Black, White, South African, and Asian Indian.
• We have leaders that self-identify as being straight, bi-sexual, and gay.
• Military veterans (female and male) are also a part of our leadership team.
•  Our summer interns are college students representing England, Asia, and the United States.

The business model for this project differs from the business model of Women and Drones more broadly. For this project the key customers and beneficiaries are the underrepresented female students who will be provided access to the STEM programming, and support to explore the drone and aviation industry career pathways.

The secondary beneficiaries are the teachers that are supported with resources and professional learning to teach with this technology in their classrooms, and the industry to gain more exposure to diverse talent.

Our products and services are delivered in conjunction with our Education partners, who work with schools and other community organizations who serve the target audience in their local areas. We collaborate closely with our Education partners to ensure that the specific needs of the schools and community organizations are well understood, and our program can best best implemented to achieve maximum impact.

The value we provide to our key audience is in helping to build confidence that STEM is for them, and showing them exciting and rewarding career opportunities available to them, with diverse role models that have forged the path.

As mentioned below, we have achieved financial sustainability for the broader business, and will look to implement a similar model to what She Maps has developed in Australia to build financial sustainability for the product offering.

Women and Drones has a diverse range of services it provides across the sector and is skilled at managing significant budgets and increasing revenue to become sustainable. This project would be an enhancement to its existing educational offering.

We would look to the She Maps business model to become financial sustainable in this offering, as follows:

• Grant funding and philanthropic donations to support program delivery in underserved communities.
• Industry financial support through their diversity and inclusion and workforce development budgets to extend to target schools and community groups.
• User pay programs for schools and community groups.

This model has been used with success by She Maps in Australia to fund the growth of their programs since 2017.

We have a Corporate Partnership program that includes many of the industry's major corporations. Based on the financial partnerships we have an allocation split to our various initiatives.