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Essay on Deficit of Women in Technological Industries

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In the United States, equal opportunity is considered a core value and policymakers tout the triumphs of a number of equality-for-women movements. So why, then, does such a deficit of women in technological industries still exist? According to researcher Amanda L. Griffith, only 21% of women entering college plan to major in a science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) field and few of those women actually attain a degree in a STEM field (915). Although young women are not explicitly discouraged from pursuing these careers – as evidenced by the presence of women at Missouri University of Science and Technology – they are continually bombarded with both subliminal and direct messages that discourage women from entering …show more content…

417) which shows that males still perform better than females on both mathematics and science tests. So, there are fewer females with standardized test scores high enough to meet entrance requirements of engineering and technology programs, which are often rigorous. Not only do fewer women enter into these fields in the first place, but universities have noticed that retention of women is lower than retention of men in these fields. Amanda Griffith, in the Economics of Education Review, stated that “[women and minorities] are less likely to pick a STEM major initially, and if they do, less likely to remain in that major” (911). Although both genders struggle in STEM fields, statistics show that females have greater problems – only 37% of women who declare a STEM major upon entering college actually earn one while 43% of men do. In addition, fewer women than men switch into a STEM major from another department – only 10% of women and 15% of men had done so by the spring of their sophomore year (Griffith 915).So, there are two problems plaguing the representation of women in these fields – they are less likely to show an interest in these fields to begin with and are more likely to drop out of a STEM major if they do. Of course, statistics can only show the effect, not the cause; the real question is why don’t

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