The Resource Pack

Explore how girls can be happy and successful at work

Welcome to People Like Me – the revolutionary approach that uses girls’ natural tendency to create and articulate their self-identity with adjectives to help them see themselves working happily and successfully in science, technology, engineering or maths (STEM).

This pack equips teachers and STEM Ambassadors with materials that can show girls from a diverse range of backgrounds that, if they continue with at least one STEM subject post-16, they are likely to have better prospects and more career choice. The pack contains a quiz to show girls where people just like them are happy and successful in their work.

The pack is targeted at girls aged 11-14. WISE recommends using the pack in an all-girl setting, where girls have been found to feel more comfortable sharing their strengths and aspirations. Research shows that the vast majority of boys use verbs rather than adjectives to articulate their self-identity, which means this approach is less likely to offer them useful insight. Trialling has shown that verb-based people often struggle with the exercise and become uncomfortable.The activity can work equally well in a science, maths, PSHE or careers session.

Find out more about the People Like Me project.

"If you want to open girls’ eyes to who they are and how their science and maths can help them access a HUGE variety of roles in the workplace, then this resource is for you!"
Kate Bellingham, Engineer and Broadcaster

Pack contents

• an explanation of the facts behind this approach and how it works
• a set of top tips for teachers, to support with advising pupils on identifying their strengths and applying them to STEM careers, and with applying the ‘People Like Me’ approach to every day teaching
• session guidance with a lesson plan and suggestions for how the materials can be used
• quiz for girls to choose adjectives and define their ‘self-identity’
• glossary to help girls choose the adjectives that best describe them
• analysis showing girls how their self-identity maps onto roles where their personality would fit well and introducing them to careers where science or maths qualifications are an advantage
• supporting materials including a USB flash drive with a presentation to consolidate girls’ learning
• poster showing the 12 personality types
• flyer for parents/carers that can be photocopied and sent home

Download the resources

"I thought the session was excellent, it was pitched at the right level to engage the students. I particularly liked that the science options were not overly forced onto the girls - it is far more powerful if the girls come to their own decisions. Many of the girls that attended the session have been asking questions about possible science-related jobs and A levels." Mr Moth, Wildern School

“The People Like Me session that the WISE team delivered at Allerton High was a great success. The interaction between the role models and our girls was brilliant to see and the feedback we received was that they really appreciated that the role models had been chosen to have a range of career paths. Thanks for your efforts in helping open our students eyes even wider to the huge range of possibilities available through STEM careers.” Jonathan Allcock, Assistnat Team Leader of Science, Allerton High School - July 2017

We are grateful to all the organisations and individuals whose generous sponsorship has allowed WISE to make the resource pack available free of charge. We hope People Like Me helps you to show girls there are many more opportunities in science than they think. Good luck with the sessions and please let us know how you get on.

Professor Averil Macdonald, Non Executive Director of WISE, is author of the 'Not for People Like Me' Research Report and of the materials for the People Like Me pack.