How Can We Encourage More Girls to Love Science, Technology, Engineering, & Math (STEM)?
Although improvements are being made with the increased involvement of women in science-related careers, there is still a significant under-representation of women, especially among minority women. There are a number of factors that contribute to this lack of women in science in our society, but most of these factors can be overcome to produce the next Anita Roberts, Sally Ride, Jane Goodall, Elizabeth Blackburn, or YOU.
According to a study entitled, Women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) by Kristine De Welde @ Florida Gulf Coast University and Sandra Laursen & Heather Thiry @ University of Colorado at Boulder (2007), several key factors prevent girls from entering or being successful in STEM fields. First, they found that the classroom environments in schools were not conducive to encouraging girls to pursue interests in these types of careers. Another key factor was a lack of female role models who could provide encouragement and inspiration as well as demonstrate how to balance their lives between careers and family life. Other significant factors include girls not being well prepared for the demands of these fields as well as not being encouraged by people around them. Furthermore, these women experience more discrimination and bias against them in the workplace in both hiring practices and in opportunities for advancement. These discriminatory practices also include differences in salaries between women and their male counterparts as well as the practice of seeing women in these positions at a lower status than their male colleagues. Finally, it is more difficult in general for women in the workplace to balance careers and families, but it is even more so for STEM careers because they are often more time-consuming due to requiring extended education, and this can result in the sacrifice of family life or career goals for these women.