Women and STEM: A Happy Relationship?

Job openings and salaries in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) industries abound. On top of posing some of the most lucrative earnings in the country, these fields are important to the survival and success of the United States economy. Despite all of this, there is a sector of the population that is missing out. Women constitute a very low number of the positions in STEM-related fields, even though their participation in this work is essential. Here we discuss the importance of STEM jobs, women's participation in STEM, why women are not taking these opportunities, ideas to increase female representation in STEM, and a proposal to implement these ideas. The importance of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields in the present and in years to come can be exemplified by job growth predictions and the usefulness these fields will prove to the United States economy and technological prowess. Expertise in these areas of study are beneficial to any nation if it uses that knowledge well. The United States in particular should depend upon STEM careers for the future health of our nation since, according to the US Department of Education, STEM workers make possible "...advancements in health and medicine, the environment, space exploration, food production, and a host of other areas that can revitalize the American economy..." (US Department of Education, 2009). Technology and its predecessors - math, science, and innovation - are useful not just in classrooms and on college entrance examinations, but to solve worldwide problems, to improve global communication channels, to further develop society, and to enhance our possibilities. Jobs are growing faster than students can get degrees due to this increased need of STEM

professionals. Indeed, the Level Playing Field Institute says "16 of the 25 highest-paying jobs in 2010 require STEM preparation and STEM workers earn 26% more than their non-STEM peers" (Level Playing Field Institute). These jobs open at an astronomical rate and are just waiting for fresh graduates to take them. STEM jobs are both growing and generating more wealth than other careers. In a job projections table by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics in 2012 (US Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2012), comparing different occupations, projected job growth in 2020 and earnings, results showed that jobs such as educational administrators, food service managers, and postmasters would experience growth by 2020 - as much as 60, 000 new jobs and a median annual wage of $60, 000. However, careers in STEM fields exhibited much more growth and high-pay. Software Developers and Programmers, for example, are predicted to have an increased employment outlook of 490, 000 jobs by 2020 due to replacement and growth needs, with an average median wage of $85, 000. For certain, these careers are lucrative. It's clear to anyone that a future-looking college student would be wise to major in one of these STEM fields, thereby contributing to society and providing him or herself an assured, comfortable future. However, the problem of not having enough employees to fill these jobs may have nothing to do with college students not being aware of the benefits - it instead has much to do with the low number of females participating in these careers. Astonishing facts exist about women's participation, not just in STEM-related employment, but in a multitude of occupations. It seems a long time since women in the United States were excluded from so-called "men's jobs" and were confined to household duties, but in reality only a few decades have passed. Some may question how much the situation has really changed. In jobs alone, a study cited by the Parliament of Canada

(Parliament of Canada, 2010) comparing the median earnings of full-time working men and women over the past decades noted that women from 1978 through 2008 earned between 12,000 and 20, 000 less than their male counterparts in a total of all occupations - excepting certain extremely high-paying jobs. Women are also affected by the presence of children and the state of pregnancy much more so than are men. According to US Bureau of Labor Statistics (US Bureau of Labor Statistics, April 2013), the number of married-couple families with children ages six or younger showed that in 5.6 percent of the cases, the mother was employed and not the father. On the other hand, 36.3 percent of the cases were of an employed father and a stay-at-home mother. Even with the stark inequality between men and women's wages and the disadvantages women face to employment in cases with children and pregnancies, women working in STEM fields still earned more than women working in non-STEM fields. A study by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (US Bureau of Labor Statistics, January 2013) showed the weekly earnings of full-time working women in 2011. The numbers revealed the benefits of working in STEM: Human resource workers made an average of $912 a week, with a total of 406, 000 jobs. Maids and housekeeping cleaners got 638, 000 jobs but only earned $392 a week. Slightly higher were real estate brokers and sales agents, earning $676 a week but with only 204, 000 jobs. When one looks at the STEM jobs, however, the numbers become much more skewed. Pharmacists had 110, 000 jobs and an average weekly earning of $1, 898 among women workers. Physicians and surgeons earned $1, 527 per week and had 206, 000 jobs. Most revealing of the need of STEM employees were the results of Registered Nurses, who earned $1, 034 per week but had a sky-high number of 1, 937, 000 jobs. While these numbers are interesting and can be studied

further to make more predictions and push the campaign for women's equality in employment, the focus now is on getting women into these high-paying, necessary, rapidly growing STEM jobs. The first question to answer is why they aren't there already. Women may choose not to participate in STEM-related fields based on many reasons, some they are conscious of, others biological, and yet others influenced by the society in which these women live. Women in their youth are generally not exposed to simple STEM concepts such as playing with mechanical toys in elementary school. Instead, they are given dolls and crayons. This may seem small and uneffective in the long term, but what children learn sticks with them. This limits the potential of society. According to The Chronicle of Higher Education, "Providing the necessary resources, exposure, and encouragement would help young women understand that their gender shouldn't determine the career choice they make, and that pursuing a STEM career does not make them less feminine" (The Chronicle of Higher Education, 2012). Society can therefore play a role in career choice by ingraining certain habits in the nation's youth that give them natural and often unnoticed behaviors that influence their future. This society of male and female differences extends into the workplace. Women are often distracted from their work, in STEM and other fields, when they become pregnant. According to Nature, "Retraining is an expensive and time-consuming affair, and finding the necessary financial support and laboratory facilities can prove difficult" (Nature, 1999). If a woman wants to re-enter a STEM field after childbirth, it becomes inconvenient for the company, leading many employers to go against corporate ethics and exclude women based on the possibility that they may become pregnant. In addition, once a woman is a part of the STEM community, inclusion is a difficult feeling to attain. Women's Policy says that even

women who are equally strong academically as men in these fields find it difficult to succeed with these "unwelcoming classrooms, outdated teaching styles, and a lack of accommodation for different social or cultural experiences..." (Women's Policy, 2009). Lastly, there has been much research on possible biological reasons for why men and women react to and work in STEM-fields differently. Girls have been shown to learn words and connections well, while boys are more suited to learning graphs and physical actions. ASCD cites, "Girls generally use more cortical areas of their brains for verbal and emotive functioning. Boys tend to use more cortical areas of the brain for spatial and mechanical functioning" (Moir & Jessel, 1989; Rich, 2000). These different methods of learning are often not given attention and this is a factor in girls and boys choosing different habits and careers. Society and biology work together to create an environment that is currently disadvantaging females in society, leaving lucrative jobs open, and stalling the growth and potential of the United States economy and technology. Despite the ingrained societal beliefs and inherent biological factors that contribute to these negatives, there are ways to get past them. There are numerous possible solutions to the problem of female underrepresentation in science, technology, engineering, and math fields. Some have been tried, but many remain "options." Simply producing an interest in STEM fields from a young age will lead to growth of women in these fields. Girls need to see women involved in, succeeding, and most importantly enjoying their work in order to be interested. These few women who work in STEM fields now can be representatives for their gender, exciting younger girls about the field to such an extent that they want to work in it as well. Even very young children can be, in a way, programmed to enjoy

science, according to ASCD, which says "...educators will need to provide girls with extra encouragement and gender-specific strategies to successfully engage them in spatial abstracts, including computer design" (ASCD, 2004). Creating these opportunities leads to a "shared value" of the benefits of STEM fields among women and men and all across the United States. Many organizations in these industries have been very innovative in their ways to increase female participation. Some programs provide mentors, others give gender-specific education in STEM, and others just make STEM fun for girls. One organization in particular is called Techbridge, which gives middle and high school girls after-school and summer programs with projects, academic guidance, and mentorship. The girls involved in Techbridge build greenhouses, solar-powered lights and earthquake resistant structures. They work with role model female engineers from Chevron who teach them about their jobs and offer advice. According to Education Nation, "83 percent of Techbridge participants surveyed were more interested in STEM careers because of role models and field trips. In addition, 87 percent felt more confident trying new things, and 90 percent said they believed engineering is a good career for women" (Education Nation, 2012). For Techbridge, it is a combination of mentorship, exposure and enthusiasm for these careers that boosts the interest of girls in science and math. In addition to the ideas and projects already done, I propose similar and synthesized approaches to increase the amount of women in STEM. The methods I believe will work the best for encouraging girls to pursue careers in STEM are internships, mentorship, creating passion, and exhibiting benefits. If a young girl has the interest, the ability and the opporunity, she can take advantage of that and get to where she wants to be. My ideal way to help this situation would be a

professional and college preparation program for high school girls. Real-world experience such as building, experimenting and working in labs for real-world problems and solutions - for example, working on vaccinations, AIDS study, or creating the next best technology - would excite students and give them a reason to want to pursue STEM for life. Meeting professionals in the field and talking to them about how their lives have benefitted, financially and personally, would give them a desire to be included in the field and a more concrete reason to join. The professional aspect would come into play with internships in laboratories, universities, hospitals and engineering firms that give these young women real opportunities so they can see that a career in STEM is not impossible and that it may be a choice that will fulfill them. After examining the problems and possible solutions facing women and careers in STEM, the hurdles become clear. Though STEM related jobs are well-paying and numerous, there is a significant gap between the number of men and the number of women who take them. WIth roots in biological learning differences, branches in youth gender socialization, and leaves in motherhood obligations, the STEM job tree is a problem that women have found quite tough to cut down. However, solutions exist. Ranging from internships, mentoring, teaching the benefits about STEM, and making the field exciting, there is a growing number of organizations committed to bringing women into STEM careers. A solution I propose is one of an internship combined with teaching the usefulness and self-fulfillment a job in a STEM career can bring to the United States young women today. Seeing the obstacles to STEM careers can be disheartening, but if society thinks about its women, its future and its success, answers may be found.