Three women lawyers from a south coast legal firm have done their bit to encourage more girls into careers involving science, technology, engineering, art and maths (STEAM).

Colleagues Nicola Hall, Asya Panchalieva and Jenny Sanderson represented Ellis Jones Solicitors at the culmination in Bournemouth of a six-month schools’ challenge organised locally by the global women’s organisation Soroptimist International.

The initiative challenged groups of girls aged 12 to 14 to research, create and work together on a sustainable, STEAM-related solution that can help people in the poorest parts of the world.

Following the launch in October 2024, projects were submitted in February with judging based on presentations given at a finals evening held before an invited audience in Bournemouth University’s Fusion Building.

Finalists from Bournemouth, Poole and Lytchett Minster tackled subjects such as water filtration, a sustainably sourced material for filling cracks in bricks and a methodology for reducing waste in sea water.

The winners, who devised a sustainable material for sanitary protection for women in developing countries, were a team from Parkstone Grammar School.   

Girls attending the finals night received encouragement from Ellis Jones as event sponsor.

Nicola, a Partner and Solicitor in Ellis Jones’ Wills, Trusts & Probate department, gave a presentation discussing how law has traditionally been seen as a male dominated profession but has been steadily changing its gender balance.

She told the audience that at Ellis Jones women now make up 75% of all staff, including 57% of managers, 70% of senior associates and 78% of associates. Eight of the firm’s 25 partners are women, a higher proportion than at many other law firms.

Nicola said of the girls presenting their STEAM projects on the night: “It was brilliant how they spoke and presented themselves, really inspiring.

“We found it wonderful to see so many young women who are ambitious and ready to explore careers that for too long have been male dominated. No job is off limit.”

The three colleagues’ presence at the STEAM challenge finals followed Ellis Jones’ activities in support of the recent International Women’s Day.

The firm published details of the career details of some of its women leaders and reiterated its enhanced, family friendly policies around maternity leave. For more details visit International Women’s Day at Ellis Jones - Ellis Jones.

To read a blog post by Jenny Sanderson about the STEAM finals, visit Experiencing the 2025 STEAM Challenge - Ellis Jones.