The number of girls lacking confidence in their science, technology, engineering and mathematics (Stem) abilities is rising and causing a barrier to women pursuing a career in the area.
That is according to this year’s I Wish Survey of Female Students’ Attitudes to Stem, published on Friday.
The survey involved 1,660 primary students and 662 secondary students, with data collected on the I Wish app and analysed by Jen O’Shea and Ella Doran, both psychology researchers at University College Cork.
I Wish is a programme aimed at encouraging teenage girls to pursue careers in Stem.
Some 60 per cent of those surveyed identified a lack of confidence in their Stem subject ability as a barrier to pursuing a career in the sector, up from 55 per cent in 2025 and 50 per cent in 2024.
Some 66 per cent of girls surveyed said gender inequality in Stem was the most significant barrier to pursuing a career in the sector, while 66 per cent also reported a lack of information about Stem careers as a barrier.
“Disparities in subject availability, particularly for hands-on Stem subjects in single-sex schools, remain a persistent concern,” the report stated.
It found just 27 per cent of girls in single-sex schools have access to computer science at Leaving Certificate level, and only 23 per cent had access to technology. That compares with more than 60 per cent in mixed-gender schools.
Similarly, hands-on Stem classes such as construction studies, engineering and design and communication graphics are much less available in single-sex schools compared with mixed-gender schools.
Despite this, the number of women entering Stem undergraduate programmes at third level has been steadily increasing, starting at 31 per cent in 2018 and now standing at 36 per cent in 2025.
In a speech launching the survey, Taoiseach Micheál Martin said the Government has projected a strong growth in demand for digital specialist jobs over the next four years in Ireland – yet women make up only one fifth of this workforce.
“Addressing that imbalance is essential to building the talent our economy needs,” Martin said.