3. The Present and the Solutions The following ideas to help resolve the STEM gap require longer studies over large periods of times on how effective they are. Each solution addresses the three main symptoms from the previous part: the unwelcoming environment, the lack of role models, and the lack of exposure to STEM.
3.1 Unwelcoming Environment The cure to an unwelcoming environment is to promote and support women currently in STEM. Too often do we here on the news that there has been another case of sexual harassment in a big company. In one recent case, Uber have been under fire for aggressive workplace environments. Earlier this year in February, Susan Fowler had made blog posts about her experiences in her job as an engineer at Uber. …show more content…
In an inspirational video, General Electric celebrates Millie Dresselhaus, a well known scientist and engineer known as the “queen of carbon science” by showing a hypothetical situation in which Dresselhaus was treated as a celebrity; she is shown as appearing on television as a prominent figure, and young girls play with figurines modeled after Dresselhaus (General Electric). This is an excellent solution to the case of missing role models. We, as the general population, need more people to celebrate what is important and what affects our lives. Rather than celebrities who are known for scandals or celebrities who are considered beautiful, we should celebrate those in which children can aspire to be. Once women and girls have been inspired, we need to reach out to them. In an article by Lucy Sanders, CEO and Co-founder of National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT), along with Jill Ross, program director of NCWIT Pacesetters, and Elizabeth Litzler, Director of the Center for Workforce Development of the University of Washington, J. MCGrath Cohoon, research scientist at NCWIT, they wrote about a program called “Pacesetters” in which active intervention from universities and companies was used to keep women in stay or join computing field (Sanders). Although they did not achieve their goal, they set an example that should be followed. Women who are currently pursuing degrees in …show more content…
This idea is not entirely new as it has been proposed by New York City’s very own mayor, Bill de Blasio, in 2015. Kate Taylor and Claire Cain Miller, The New York Times correspondents reported the details of how de Blasio plans to implement the program. Acknowledging the growing number of technological jobs within New York City, de Blasio proposed that all children should be able to. In his program Computer Science for All, he plans to have all some form of computer science to be given as an option in each level of public school education. This is a ten year plan in which they hope half of the eighty-one million dollars needed are to be raised via private means (Taylor). At a national level, former President Obama had announced his plan to introduce a Computer Science for All Program that has estimated costs of four billion dollars in January of 2016. It has reached some milestones with accomplishments such as having fourteen new states expand their computer science education (Farmer). Despite these ambitious plans from the previous White House administration, the current one makes it difficult for real change to happen at a national level. The future of education does not seem so bright. In an article by Anya Kamenetz, National Public Radio’s lead education blogger and author of several books regarding the future of education, she summarizes President Trump’s budget
3.1 Unwelcoming Environment The cure to an unwelcoming environment is to promote and support women currently in STEM. Too often do we here on the news that there has been another case of sexual harassment in a big company. In one recent case, Uber have been under fire for aggressive workplace environments. Earlier this year in February, Susan Fowler had made blog posts about her experiences in her job as an engineer at Uber. …show more content…
In an inspirational video, General Electric celebrates Millie Dresselhaus, a well known scientist and engineer known as the “queen of carbon science” by showing a hypothetical situation in which Dresselhaus was treated as a celebrity; she is shown as appearing on television as a prominent figure, and young girls play with figurines modeled after Dresselhaus (General Electric). This is an excellent solution to the case of missing role models. We, as the general population, need more people to celebrate what is important and what affects our lives. Rather than celebrities who are known for scandals or celebrities who are considered beautiful, we should celebrate those in which children can aspire to be. Once women and girls have been inspired, we need to reach out to them. In an article by Lucy Sanders, CEO and Co-founder of National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT), along with Jill Ross, program director of NCWIT Pacesetters, and Elizabeth Litzler, Director of the Center for Workforce Development of the University of Washington, J. MCGrath Cohoon, research scientist at NCWIT, they wrote about a program called “Pacesetters” in which active intervention from universities and companies was used to keep women in stay or join computing field (Sanders). Although they did not achieve their goal, they set an example that should be followed. Women who are currently pursuing degrees in …show more content…
This idea is not entirely new as it has been proposed by New York City’s very own mayor, Bill de Blasio, in 2015. Kate Taylor and Claire Cain Miller, The New York Times correspondents reported the details of how de Blasio plans to implement the program. Acknowledging the growing number of technological jobs within New York City, de Blasio proposed that all children should be able to. In his program Computer Science for All, he plans to have all some form of computer science to be given as an option in each level of public school education. This is a ten year plan in which they hope half of the eighty-one million dollars needed are to be raised via private means (Taylor). At a national level, former President Obama had announced his plan to introduce a Computer Science for All Program that has estimated costs of four billion dollars in January of 2016. It has reached some milestones with accomplishments such as having fourteen new states expand their computer science education (Farmer). Despite these ambitious plans from the previous White House administration, the current one makes it difficult for real change to happen at a national level. The future of education does not seem so bright. In an article by Anya Kamenetz, National Public Radio’s lead education blogger and author of several books regarding the future of education, she summarizes President Trump’s budget