Women in STEM support hits record high

The Morrison Government has today awarded a record 25 scholarships to women studying Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) at 13 universities across Australia.

Minister for Defence Industry Melissa Price said Defence continued to lead the nation in promoting STEM workforce diversity, with the Defence Women in STEM Undergraduate scholarships playing a significant role in building the talent pipeline.

Seventeen previous scholarship recipients have completed their degree programs, with seven continuing on to Defence STEM Cadetship programs and a further four women now employed by Defence.

“Clearly these scholarships are helping facilitate greater engagement from women across Australia with Defence,” Minister Price said.

“We are enabling the best talent to successfully complete their degrees and ensuring the workforce of the future is secured.”

This year’s scholarship program also honours the late Leisa Condie, who made outstanding contributions to cryptology and the high performance computing program in Defence and the Australian Signals Directorate.

The Leisa Condie Defence Women in STEM Undergraduate Scholarship was awarded to Edith Cowan University student Hannah Rice, whose studies align with Leisa’s work area. 

The scholarships are awarded to students who demonstrated academic excellence and who displayed positive attributes such as community leadership and extra-curricular engagement.

To see all of the scholarship recipients and read the full Media Release, please visit the Department of Defence website.