The Adelaide Crows Foundation will use its STEM expertise to help 35 young Indigenous women navigate their way to their dream career, thanks to an innovative new partnership.
Kuwa Circles is a collaboration between the Adelaide Crows Foundation, the Stronger Smarter Institute, IPA Recruitment Agency, Tjindu Foundation and Tauondi Aboriginal Community College aiming to engage underrepresented female Indigenous students in STEM career pathway development.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are under-represented in STEM, particularly at the university level, where 0.5% of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population has a STEM qualification, compared to 5% of the non-Indigenous population.
25 female students from the Tjindu Foundation, as well as ten alumni from Tauondi Aboriginal Community College and the Tjindu Foundation, will take part in the inaugural program.
The Adelaide Crows Foundation will demonstrate the role of science and maths in football, provide a unique insight into STEM careers within the Adelaide Football Club and engage industry leading speakers to share their STEM career experience.
The alumni participants will be employed by the Adelaide Crows Foundation as mentors and receive further development in leadership to create a more significant experience for all involved.
These young women will also receive career mentoring and personalised career pathway plans, with opportunities for employment through the program.
All participants will take part in an Indigenous-designed leadership and connection program delivered by the Smarter Stronger Institute, which creates safe, enabling spaces and circle work to build confidence, resilience and leadership to help the students to navigate and break through the barrier of pursuing a career.
Adelaide Crows Foundation Manager Louise McDonald said the program was a great example of the strength of organisations coming together with a shared goal.
“Each of the partners brings a unique skill or contribution which allows us to provide a well-rounded opportunity for everyone involved,” McDonald said.
“Alone, we can only achieve so much, but as a collective, we are able to create a meaningful pathway for these young women and hopefully help them gain the skills and confidence to pursue their dreams or possibly open their eyes to opportunities they had never considered before.
“Our STEMfooty program has been an unbelievable success encouraging a passion for science and maths in young people, and we will continue to adapt this program to inspire women at different stages in their education journey.
“We look forward to working closely with our partners and with our female participants to see what we can achieve together.”
Kuwa Circles is one of four South Australian projects being funded through the National Careers Institute to improve women’s economic security through employment opportunities.
The Adelaide Football Club is committed to being an active participant in Australia’s reconciliation journey by building meaningful relationships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, communities and organisations.
The Club’s Second Innovate Reconciliation Action Plan can be found here.
