Gender Gap Within The Fields Of Science, Technology, Engineering, And Mathematics

Women have always been viewed as the weaker sex, and society will continue to view them that way unless they do something about it. In the essay “When Bright Girls Decide that Math is a Waste of time”, the author Susan Jacoby discusses the problems women steering clear of math and science subjects because of the traditional view of a woman. She focused on what causes high school girls to focus on arts courses instead of STEM courses and what are the effects of it on themselves. The underlying discrimination amongst boys and girls, stereotypical thinking of parents and teachers that girls are not good at math eventually decreases the self-confidence among girls to solve science and math problems.

51 percent of the United States is female but only 34.4 percent of doctors are women. While 90.4 percent of nurses are female (“Women in Medicine”; “Male Nurses Becoming”), the women who do become doctors earn an astounding 25 percent less than their male counterparts (Groves). These staggering figures are only a single piece in the larger overall lack of women in STEM, or science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, which has remained prevalent since the beginning of these fields. Although women are underrepresented in these STEM fields, this is not due to ineptitude, but instead it is a result of the force of societal stereotypes coupled with their wider range of abilities. The recent increase in women’s association with STEM seems

As we move deeper into the digital world, the importance of STEM education is becoming more and more apparent. Unfortunately, however, the gender ratio continues to be skewed with men dominating - in both classrooms and the working world. Among the challenges women face in entering STEM fields are stigma and a lack of support. Fem4STEM aims to breach these barriers by providing girls and women a platform to showcase their abilities, as well as meet other women who share a passion for STEM. We believe strongly that advancing STEM education requires collaboration between industry, educators, and families. As such, we have partnered with a number of clubs and professors at

In a speech in February 2013 President Barak Obama said, “One of the things that I really strongly believe in is that we need to have more girls interested in math, science, and engineering. We’ve got half the population that is way underrepresented in those fields and that means that we’ve got a whole bunch of talent…not being encouraged the way they need to.” It been three years since President Obama has made that statement and the underrepresentation of women in science, technology, engineering and math as known as STEM majors is still a big problem today. The STEM workforce is crucial to Americas global competitiveness and groundbreaking capability. The people who work in the STEM field make up nearly half of the United

In When Bright Girls Decide that Math is a ‘A Waste of Time’, Jacoby describes why girls tend to dislike math and science although they make superb grades seeing them as subjects designed for men. Girls often tend to not want to participate in math and science for the fear “that they will be unattractive to boys if they are typed as brains” (Jacoby 184). As young women continue to hold these beliefs that STEM isn’t meant for them nor is it attractive, it leads to women beginning to think they are incapable of reaching the same education levels of men, further barricading them from following their interests and dreams. Decisions to avoid advanced science and math courses eventually cause women to be unqualified for quality jobs, exclusion and anxiety about not understanding math and science as well as the opposite

This report navigates the current state of STEM demographic in the country. It examines the reasons why there are less females undertaking STEM majors and gives recommendations on the problems. A brief history on STEM is outlined and the discussion follows with in depth analysis on the subject. STEM is a very critical education discipline with an importance in the economy of the country. Much as it is important, few students choose a career path in STEM. Although, there are more than 50% female students in Colleges and Universities, 12% take STEM related course. Why is this? This report is a compilation of empirical data collected in journals on the same subject explaining

This program is an after school program that runs three days a week, inviting young girls to come to the science center to learn about STEM in a fun, educational, interactive and empowering way. Girls will be divided into age groups that focus on age appropriate activities where they are mentored by female professionals in the STEM field that will offer inspiration. Some of the issues addressed would touch on female empowerment, building confidence in STEM areas, fighting negative stereotypes about women in the STEM field, different career options including coding, date creation, cyber security, ethical hacking, engineering, math, science, biology and chemistry. Girls will take part in each branch of the STEM field and be exposed to the many things it offers. The science center is seeking to make the program available for girls aged six to eighteen as we believe the earlier the exposure the more confident the girls will be come and the longer the exposure the more invested they will be. The science center has paired with other nonprofits that are working to collect data for studies and reports regarding women in the STEM field. The science center and these organizations will use this program to collect data to

Before I came to the Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science, my world was small. I had never been exposed to the multiple STEM opportunities such as science fair, research, or university professors. I realized how fortunate I was to have such resources, and want to expose more young students to them. There are many underprivileged students in Denton ISD who don’t have access to STEM programs. I helped bridge this gap of educational opportunity by becoming a mentor for Aspire Mentorship, a program that promotes research among younger students to inspire them in the STEM fields. I mentored two middle school girls, a 7th and an 8th grader, through a research project from brainstorming ideas to conducting data analysis to their final presentation at the Fort Worth Regional Science and Engineering Fair.

There is great potential for adolescents to find high paying careers in the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) field. There are currently millions of STEM positions in the U.S. alone with this number expected to keep on steadily growing. Unfortunately, these opportunities are not made equally available to all adolescents. There is concern with the lack of females and minorities pursuing STEM degrees and retention in the STEM pipeline. While some perceived barriers have been disproven by research, there are barriers which are still perceived to exist include reasons related to school, peers, and family. Studies have shown that by age eleven, adolescents have decided if they can pursue a STEM career. (Find site). It is the individuals’

During this day and age women in STEM is a very tough career. One question we bring to mind is does a female student having a female science teach motivate them to fill in those shoes? The answer to me is yes because women are starting to get rid of that stereotype about how they can’t feed off each other. Especially if the girl’s mom was a science teacher that would help a lot because women tend to look at their mother’s footsteps first. Also the pioneer’s women in STEM need to be brought upon more in history class. In order to get more women into the Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics field, women and young girls need these type of people to be brought upon in order to spark inspiration?.

Technology and science aren’t just for men – but we knew that already, right? Then why don’t we hear more about women in these fields? Perhaps, it is because there is a lack of precedence in including young female students in STEM programs. It’s important for the future to encourage students to follow their interests and establish a safe STEM-centric environment for them to experiment in. It’s with this belief in mind that fischertechnik Education decided to donate a collection of fischertechnik Mini Bot sets to the NYC SPARX organization. NYC SPARX is an incredible, free New York City Park’s program dedicated to helping girls of all ages and abilities explore the world of science, technology, engineering, art and math (STEAM).

The discovery of interests in school begins at a young age, “career aspirations based on individual aptitudes, interests, and values are formulated during adolescence and shape the academic choices that lead to the STEM career pipeline” (Wang 771). Girls may discover that they are interested in science or mathematics at an early age, but they are generally compared to their male counterparts, who are given more attention at a younger age to pursue careers in this field. This time frame is critical, if attention is not given and more concentration is placed, girls may lose interest or consideration in the subject, seeing that it has nothing to offer for them. Jill Bystydzienski asserts, “little attention is paid, however to girls’ engagements with engineering during early stages of decision making” (1-2). If young females were given personal interactions with a field, they can then decide if they have a further interest in the subject. With no introduction to the field in middle school or even high school, the girls do not really understand what they can do with the profession. Some may explore options on their own, and others may just bypass the opportunities that could await them, “young girls cannot possibly consider opportunities they do not know exist” (“Why STEM”). Even when interest is expressed by girls at a young age they still do not have as many resources to opportunities to learn more about the

The underrepresentation of women in STEM is a problem in which I harbor particularly strong feelings, as female scientists are typically neither recognized nor celebrated for their scientific contributions. Young girls with dreams of being scientists find few role models as male figureheads historically dominate STEM fields, teaching women that this is not a suitable field of study.

Western Sydney University’s Woman in Science and Engineering (WISE) program is addressing these issues by promoting and inspiring girls throughout their degree whilst also providing them with opportunities to meet employers visit workplaces and attend industry events. The female students also have access to a mentoring program, which pairs them with professionals in their field for career advice and

Interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) is thinning for women as they progress into higher levels. Women in grades 7-12 were surveyed to see if their interest in STEM fields were diminishing. According to Van Leuvan, this survey showed that there was a decline in interest as these girls progress through high school. Throughout middle school and junior high a love for mathematics can be developed. However, a loss of interest is present as soon as girls hit more demanding classes like calculus. Grades will highly diminished and a fear for comprehension of mathematics in the future will develope. According to the article “Women and Minorities in Engineering” a major outlook on success from students is their ability to understand calculus.