Women : A Modern Day Revolution

However, of that 48%, only 24% of them are involved in a STEM field. However, statistics are saying now, more than ever, women are pursuing STEM careers. Yet, what happens behind the scenes while earning your degree? My mother has experienced a prime example of exactly what happens when women attempt to pursue a STEM career. She had decided on taking a programming course in college. Long story short, she got to her assigned computer and began to design her screen like the creative woman she is. Her professor walked up to her found it unrighteous to have her computer screen pink when everyone else's where "manly" colors. He suggested that she goes to the counselor to change courses since technology was "manly" thing. Sadly, she listened along with many other women. I say that because "...nearly a third of women in science, engineering and technology (S.E.T.) fields say they are likely to quit within a year," (Sherbin, ...Bias in Their Labs). It's unfortunate that women all over feel that they are not worthy because of their gender or their lack of "manliness." STEM fields aren't a manly thing, they need to be identified as gender neutral profession, as every profession should

The force of societal stereotypes is a large part of this gap. Instead of joining STEM careers, the most common careers among women are secretaries, nurses, and elementary and middle school teachers (Mandell). This truly illustrates that when well-rounded, talented women have the choice, they are inclined to delve into the field in which society expects them to belong. In this way, the stereotype of women not being involved in STEM is forcing less women to be involved in these fields. The deficiency of women in technical fields, despite their well-roundedness and ability, can be directly related to unyielding cultural stereotypes that stigmatize women in supposedly masculine fields.

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

Some implications of this study are that women- only STEM programs can benefit women in general, but minorities in particular, and these kinds of programs should be studied and implemented to assure that women will get the help they need to succeed. The question that this study leaves unanswered, that Rosenthal, L., London, B., & Levy, S.R. (2011) answer, is: What explains this sense of belonging that women feel?

Foundation requests funds for our STEM initiative to give underserved kids in disadvantaged neighborhoods the opportunity to participate in STEM programs and increase the number of minority and at-risk youth pursuing higher education and careers in STEM-related fields. We know this is an important step in preparing school-age children to start thinking about educational attainment and their future career paths. The U.S. Department of Commerce projects that STEM occupations will grow by 17 percent from 2008 to 2018, compared to 9.8 percent growth for non-STEM occupations. In addition, STEM workers command higher wages, earning 26 percent more than their non-STEM counterparts.

Women have struggled in establishing their rightful place in the STEM environment because of this image of a family where the mother is the chief caretaker of the children. Society believes that a woman’s first priority

While this bill undoubtedly aligned with the mission and purpose of women’s colleges, there remains an unbalanced amount of representation of women in STEM programs and careers. “Globally, women remain particularly behind in participation at elite institutions and in traditional ‘male’ fields of study including science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, or STEM” (Renn, 2014, p. 3). While the very existence of women’s colleges asserts their right to belong within realms of higher education, the work towards equity and inclusion must take place in all facets of life. “Even where women outnumber men in undergraduate enrollments and enjoy full access to higher education, women’s institutions act symbolically to remind society that in many other domains of public and private life, gender equality remains elusive” (Renn, 2014, p. 125).

In America today controversy is on the rise about the desperate need for more STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) workers. Many researchers have argued that STEM jobs need to be filled with more graduates that have liberal arts backgrounds. Alternatively other professionals argue that there isn’t really a shortage at all but instead a lack of STEM talent in specific areas. Educators need to encourage more students to choose majors in STEM fields. The president’s council of advisors on science and technology makes a very valid point. Over the next decade if the country were to retain its historical preeminence in science and technology, the U.S. will need to produce approximately 1 million more STEM workers. Some argue that the need to graduate more workers for STEM areas, while others admit that there is a need for more student majoring in STEM fields but also that we need more diverse students with liberal arts backgrounds. Along with more gender based diversity.

The stated prerogative is to introduce slow yet lasting change and to integrate more women and people of color within the STEM field; however, the plan for change, and the reason for its perceived need to be slow is nowhere addressed; , suggesting that it is rather the reluctance of men to relinquish control and allow feminization of the field (Tepperman and Curtis, 2012). Reports of these initiatives claim to be struggling struggle in attracting and keeping women within the STEM field. Yet by shifting the blame on women, the inaction taken by scientific institutions to reform the patriarchal ideals dominating the scientific realm is justified (Tepperman and Curtis, 2012). In addition, the economic paradigm that western society is built around is one that necessitates inequality to function. The Neoliberal welfare is instrumental in constructing gender

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?.

Women in STEM are greatly underrepresented. STEM usually refers to an educational curriculum. Usually the curriculum focuses on science, engineering, technology, and math. The percentage of women in the STEM workforce has risen from seven percent in the seventies to twenty six percent in 2011. (U.S Department of Commerce)

7% of the STEM workforce during 1970 were women  (science, technology, engineering, mathematics). in 1990 this number raised to 23%, however, after this increase, progress was stalled. In 2011 26% of STEM jobs belonged to women, only a 3% increase over two decades.

The STEM field is no stranger to advancement and innovation. In a thriving age of technology and science, one could argue that the United States (and many countries throughout the world) have progressed a long way from the outdated technologies that were used in past decades. Yet, despite the vast progress made in the stem fields, the demographics of STEM workers are still highly outdated with its lack of racial and gender diversity. As a result of the growing number of jobs in STEM, organizations such as Black Girls Code are making steps to prepare minorities for these careers.