In India, women represent almost half of the students in STEM but account for less than 15% in the STEM workforce.

For 3 years, the #StemTheGap campaign has shone a light on India’s gender biases that lead to the situation. This year’s addition to the campaign aims to find a solution.

Through extensive interviews with female graduates and scientists, we learned that what made a difference - for a woman to succeed in STEM - was finding a female mentor. Someone to share experience and receive advice from.

So we created AI-SHU, an AI mentor, a first contact, who led to a platform with real mentors, all top scientists in their field, to connect with.

This led to an ever-growing number of connections and we are still working every day on recruiting more mentors and mentees to the program, for women to finally find the place they deserve in STEM.

Globally, women represent 26% of the STEM students. India, however, boasts an impressive 43% of women graduating in those fields, yet only an estimated 14% of them are part of the STEM workforce.

We already knew there was social pressure on Indian women to drop out after graduation because, according to their family, “a diploma is good enough to get a good marriage” and Indian girls are often told that STEM fields are more of a boy thing.

But through our own research with leading female scientists, we realised that the main culprit for the issue, in India, was the lack of prominent female role models and mentors.

Without any supportive voice to help them navigate a male dominated world, most feel isolated and give up, perpetuating the gender gap in STEM.

The digital film highlights the urgent need for more female role models in STEM today.

By paying homage to female Indian STEM luminaries like Dr. Anandibai Joshi, Kamala Sohonie, Dr. Janaki Ammal, Kalpana Chawla, among others, showcasing their inspiring journeys as words of encouragement for women stay in their respective STEM fields in India.

Globally, women represent 26% of the STEM students. India, however, boasts an impressive 43% of women graduating in those fields. So, why is there only a dire 14% of them eventually becoming part of the STEM workforce?

For the second iteration of #STEMTheGap initiative, we looked into the reasons leading to this unacceptable drop right after graduation and during early career.

After conducting our own research with Indian female scientists, we realised that the lack of prominent female role models and mentors was the main culprit for the issue.

There was an urgent need to shed light on the glaring absence of STEM female mentors and role models in India today. We wanted to showcase role models and build a network of mentors to inspire the next generation of Indian women to stay in their STEM careers.

Globally, women represent 26% of the STEM students. India, however, boasts an impressive 43% of women graduating in those fields, yet only an estimated 14% of them are part of the STEM workforce.

We already knew there was social pressure on Indian women to drop out after graduation because, according to their family, “a diploma is good enough to get a good marriage” and Indian girls are often told that STEM fields are more of a boy thing.

But through our own research with leading female scientists, we realised that the main culprit for the issue, in India, was the lack of prominent female role models and mentors.

Without any supportive voice to help them navigate a male dominated world, most feel isolated and give up, perpetuating the gender gap in STEM.

While India has the highest female STEM graduates at 43%, only 14% stay in their fields. Why? Lack of female role models and mentors.

Instead, they’re bombarded by cultural and gender bias and tremendous family expectations. So to #StemTheGap, Olay gathered the voices of top female scientists in India, their real-life experiences and 500+ pages of data, and created AI-SHU.

AI-SHU is a web-based chat mentor that offers invaluable guidance to Indian women pursuing STEM careers. AI-SHU is unique because she is AI combined with real-life wisdom and practical advice.

We also partnered with vLookUp and LEAD Schools to connect women with mentors. Finally, we created a ground-breaking film about 5 iconic Indian women. It garnered 3.2M views in 48 hours and over 23M+ views to date.

In a time when women are always hearing that they can’t, here’s the collective voice of great women telling them that they can.

When a woman makes it in STEM in India, it is a testament to her grit and tenacity, as very few India women have reached the level they have. Their stories, experiences, and life lessons will undoubtedly inspire the younger generation of Indian women.

So, we set out to celebrate the stories of the greatest minds among Indian female STEM scientists of the past to be a voice of inspiration to encourage more to stay in their respective STEM fields.

We made it a springboard to connect with leading female STEM scientists of today to mentor, advise and guide the next generation.

The combined efforts would draw upon thousands of different experiences and give personalized counsel to keep girls on the path to realizing their STEM dreams.

The campaign was a three-pronged approach to give role models (through the film) and access to mentors (AI & vLookup). It harnesses the power of past and present-day scientists’ collective experiences to inspire the next generation of Indian women to stay in STEM.

Our film delves into India's rich history of remarkable women in STEM and pays homage to the legacies of luminaries like Dr. Anandibai Joshi and Kamala Sohonie.

The AI-SHU virtual mentor was concurrently launched as a beta version of a web-based virtual chat mentor to provide mentorship for women in STEM. Built from the collective experiences of women in different STEM fields such as Shannon Olsson, Swarna Manjari, to provide the user with knowledge, resources, and encouragement on their journeys.

The AI could then connect to Olay x vLookup’s platform, on which women can connect with mentors who volunteered to advise them on their STEM life.

The campaign has successfully raised the bar for Olay’s brand engagement, creating 270MM PR impressions. The digital film garnered 3.2M views within the first 48hours upon launch, hitting 33MM views with 45% View-through rate till date. The video garnered positive reviews, inspiring women in STEM in India.

Quoting some a netizen from YouTube -

@becreativewithpranjali3012 “I'm 15 and my 10th boards are coming ahead ........not gonna lie..but whenever I feel unsupportive, demotivated and anxious...I always watch THIS Video.....this always reminds me that women are neglected and half of the intelligence is not seen in the development of country....I always cry when I watch this video...love this video. Jai Hind.”

Till date, the digital film continues to recruit users to engage with AI-SHU, keeping the momentum to increase access to STEM mentorship for all aspiring young women pursuing a career in STEM.

Olay’s efforts to get young girls interested in STEM started 10 years ago, globally. In India, we realized the problem wasn’t a lack of interest, with half of the STEM students already being women.

Identifying the problem specific to India was the first major step in bringing a change.

The difficulty to find a relatable mentor was clearly singled out by all the people we interviewed. Therefore, we started our effort to lead students of STEM to those mentors.

AI-SHU is the first step of the campaign, shining a light on the problem and allowing for a non-committal approach from young women of STEM, before taking them to our mentorship platform.

With the success of the campaign, we are now able to recruit more volunteers throughout the whole country so that more girls can find the right mentor, in the right field, to finally find their place in STEM.