Women in STEM

Despite making up nearly half of the workers in the US, women are still vastly underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields.  As of 2019, women accounted for only 26% of STEM employees.  Women are also represented unequally across different areas of STEM.  For example, women are overrepresented in health-related jobs, but only 15% of engineers are women.  Within STEM jobs, there is also a wage gap, with women in full-time STEM careers making less money than their male counterparts.

Here are some ways to encourage girls into STEM fields:
1. Early exposure and education is key to fostering interest in STEM.  Elementary schools can introduce children to computer science, engineering, and math concepts through hands-on activities and experiments.  Parents can encourage interest in STEM by encouraging play with toys that utilize the imagination to build simple machines or structures and by celebrating their child's success and efforts in STEM.

2. Providing girls with female role models and mentors in STEM can make a huge difference.  Seeing and interacting with women who are successful in STEM roles can motivate girls to pursue similar paths.

3. Making STEM relatable encourages all children, not just girls, to stick with STEM as they grow.  For instance, showing students how to use math to create a community garden or calculate the cost of a small business makes math engaging and fun.  Using local examples of how STEM affects their lives shows students that these are not abstract principles, but tools that can help us understand and improve our communities.

4. Having a supportive school culture is key to keeping girls interested in STEM.  Teachers should be trained to recognize and fight against gender bias, both their own unconscious biases and those they observe in others.  Girls' achievements should be recognized and celebrated to reinforce to them that they are capable STEM students. 

5. Equal access to resources and opportunities can help empower girls to succeed in STEM.  This can include access to the Internet and computers, as well as scholarships, internships, and apprenticeships targeted at girls.

Keeping girls interested in STEM requires parents, teachers, and communities to work together to encourage and support them as they grow!

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