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Luis Sanchez Professor Ditch English 115 1 November 2013 Why Not STEM? In the United States there is lack of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) majors. STEM majors arent found most often because most people choose to major in Business Administration and Management/Commerce, Psychology, or Nursing (Top 10 College Majors). In STEM fields there is a large gender disparity, there are more males than women compared to other majors. This lack of STEM majors is problematic, even more so when there is a gender and ethnic disparity. This disparity is problematic because it influences people into believing stereotypes such as women dont perform well in math. There is a need to augment the amount of STEM majors there are so that the socially constructed belief of the United States can change. In order to advance there must be an increase in stem majors to lessen these prejudices. With STEM we can help better our society by improving our technology and by augmenting our understanding of the way things work. If society encourages more people to major in STEM fields and create social unity within those fields, then society should be able to break many gender stereotypes. There is a need for more diversity in STEM majors and the American society has to encourage the younger generations into STEM fields more. Studies show that there is a gender gap between men and women in STEM fields. There is a 17 percent difference between men and women interested in STEM fields and the gap is only getting bigger. Its not that there isnt any interest in STEM fields; its lack of persistence. Nearly 28 percent of high school students declare an interest in STEM fields, yet only 42.6 percent

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remain interested in STEM through high school; the other 57.4 percent lose interest in STEM thats a disparity of 16.8 percent (Where are STEM Students). There must be something done about this disparity. This ongoing disparity in STEM majors is an issue and causes social problems. A study suggests that it is the environment in which you are learning that discourages many students from continuing a STEM major. There is high school discouragement in these fields. Many people are falling victims to the stereotypes place amongst them. Many people are with a misconception of ones math skills, believing that it is a natural gift, either you are born with the ability to solve complex differential equations or you are not. This is not the case, math is a skill and with practice anyone can master it. It is this kind of thinking that creates barriers on ones opportunities in STEM. Society has been constructed on deeply rooted stereotypes because the United States is a patriarchal society and therefore limits women which is a reason for the gender disparity in STEM. It is commonly believed that men are naturally better at math than women; these limitations are what hinder the diversity in STEM fields. These fields are therefore mostly dominated by Caucasian males. Having a Caucasian male dominated STEM field has negative effects in women and society. This causes many people, especially women feel like they do not fit in the STEM society, it is a cause of what makes them leave STEM; not their performances in math or science, women dont experience much difficulty in those classes it is the way they are treated (Researchers Look at Ways). Due to this disparity there are more males being employed to STEM fields rather women. The disparity allows for the glass ceiling to come into play; men and women will be doing the same job but the men will get paid more. This kind of workplace environment discourages women to want a job in a field where they will be treated like a second

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class citizen. It is a negative effect on society and reflection of the way this patriarchal construct. There is no way that one can look at the gender disparity in STEM fields that is positive. There is a need to take initiative and help reduce this disparity and the stereotypes that come with it. In order to augment our diversity in STEM fields we need to encourage people to not only find interest in STEM fields, but to remain committed to the field. From young ages people must be supported into taking STEM related courses when available, these courses should be available for everyone and must be free of biases. The earlier the exposure the more likely students will find interest and stick to it. A study that has shown successful results in keeping students committed with STEM and helping them finish what they started is having students be taught by STEM field instructors of the same race and/or ethnicity (The Effects of Instructor). This is greatly beneficial to STEM fields because it offers an increased diversity in STEM fields; which allows for a decrease in gender and ethnic stereotypes in STEM. Diversity in STEM field is the desired state of being for everyone to be able to be represented and to promote equal opportunities for everyone. The augmentation of people in STEM majors are what will allow us to accomplish these things. One can argue that society could use more diversity in STEM majors/fields but is there a need to encourage more people into those fields? Some have argued that no society does not need more people in STEM that it is unnecessary because like the rest of the world, America is doing poorly in STEM areas and if the rest of the world doesnt improve neither should America (The STEM Crisis). That is where people are wrong. Should we adhere to conformity and not do anything for our STEM society just because the world doesnt do anything about it? No! The United States is a leading country and an influential one. It must lead the world into a new way of viewing the STEM fields. The benefits of having a vast and diverse STEM society is only

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beneficial to our society. There are many careers out there that offer a lot to STEM majors, high paying jobs. To argue that because no one else is doing it is to act like a child. Another argument is that just because there is more diversity in STEM fields that the stereotypes will go away. Sure, not all stereotypes will go away, but it will lower the amount of stereotypes that are out there. No society is perfect and without flaw, but having little flaws is much better than having a lot of them. Without diversity in STEM fields, society will remain the same. No social constructs will change and the way things are probably going to remain the same. Stereotypes will be negatively influencing the way society thinks. So, lets consider focusing our attention in STEM fields and advocate the diversity in the field. Lets create a better society and reimage the way people think of such fields. Lets make a STEM a better place in which students feel like part of the community and help take down stereotypes one step at a time.

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Works Cited Campbell, Melissa. "Researchers Look at Ways to Bridge the Gender Gap in STEM Fields." The Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education 2011 feb 21: 26-27. Web. 5 Nov. 2013. <http://libproxy.csun.edu/login?url=http://search.proquest.com.libproxy.csun.edu/docv iew/855815761?accountid=7285>. Price, Joshua. The Effect of Instructor Race and Gender on Student Persistence in STEM Fields Web. 10 Oct. 2013. "The STEM Crisis Is a Myth." - IEEE Spectrum. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Nov. 2013. "STEM Gender Gap Pronounced in United States." Science and Children Sept. 2012: 11. General OneFile. Web. 5 Nov. 2013. <http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA306973300&v=2.1&u=csunorthridge&i t=r&p=ITOF&sw=w&asid=5a12385997f673c5de892eb7d9148c2d>. "Top 10 College Majors." Top 10 College Majors. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Nov. 2013.