Young Indigenous women are making their mark in science, and a national award is recognising a program determined to make sure they have the space, support and cultural safety to stay there.

The Young Indigenous Women's STEM Academy has won the 2026 National NAIDOC Innovation Award, recognising its work creating pathways for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander young women into science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

The award was presented at the National NAIDOC Awards in Mparntwe on Arrernte Country, with the STEM Academy recognised for an approach that puts culture and Indigenous knowledge alongside education and career development.

That distinction matters.

For too long, conversations about getting young people into STEM have started from the assumption that something is missing. More qualifications. More confidence. More exposure to science.

It overlooks the knowledge Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people already carry.

Indigenous people have observed Country, understood seasonal change, managed water, read landscapes and developed sophisticated systems of knowledge over thousands of generations. Science is not new to us. What has often been missing is recognition of that knowledge within institutions and pathways that allow young people to enter those spaces without leaving their identity at the door.

The Young Indigenous Women's STEM Academy is working differently.

Established in 2018, the STEM Academy was designed to create culturally safe pathways for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander young women pursuing STEM. Indigenous Knowledges and cultural authority sit within the model, while identity is treated as something that strengthens a young woman's journey rather than something she needs to put aside to succeed.

The STEM Academy supports young women through mentoring, leadership development, youth-led governance and opportunities to build national networks. Its reach extends from high school into university, training and employment, creating a longer pathway rather than expecting young women to navigate each transition alone.

Executive Manager of the Young Indigenous Women's STEM Academy Kim Dyball said the young women themselves remained at the centre of the program.

"You are at the heart of everything we do. Your curiosity, courage, ambition and determination inspire us every day," she said.

That message of belonging is powerful because representation still matters.

A young Aboriginal girl considering engineering or science should not have to search hard to find someone who looks like her. She should be able to see Indigenous women conducting research, developing technology and sitting at the tables where decisions about Australia's scientific future are being made.

More importantly, she should be able to imagine herself there.

The STEM Academy is helping shift that picture by developing a pipeline of Indigenous women with the skills and networks to build careers across STEM. CSIRO says the program has grown beyond education to become a nationally significant Indigenous-led model supporting participation, workforce development and longer-term systemic change.

Winning a National NAIDOC Innovation Award also places the achievement within a much bigger story.

NAIDOC has always been about more than celebration. It grew from struggle, advocacy and the determination of Aboriginal people to demand recognition in a country that spent generations denying our voices.

An Innovation Award therefore carries particular weight when it recognises young Indigenous women.

Innovation does not only happen when somebody invents something new. Sometimes innovation means changing the systems around our people so their existing brilliance finally has room to flourish.

The STEM Academy's success has been built collectively, with current and former staff, mentors, Elders, partners, supporters and the young women themselves contributing since the program began. It is led by CSIRO and delivered in partnership with CareerTrackers and proudly funded by the National Indigenous Australians Agency.

Kim Dyball said accepting the award also came with a responsibility to continue creating opportunities and challenging systems.

For the young women coming through the STEM Academy, the message is bigger than winning an award.

The message is clear - You belong in STEM.

Culture and science have always belonged together. In STEM spaces, Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander young women bring 65,000+ years of Indigenous Knowledges alongside their own aspirations, curiosity and expertise - as knowledge holders, innovators and leaders.

And every young Indigenous woman who walks into those spaces makes the doorway a little wider for the ones coming behind her. And we are here to proudly walk alongside them.