Gender Gap In STEM Field Study

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Throughout history women have been seen as inferior to men. Women have had to fight for the right to vote, to own property, and to have a job, and it is time that women should no longer have to fight to be seen as equal to men. Women face many barriers throughout their lifetime. These factors combined influence the number of women in STEM fields. In the 21st Century, it is no longer acceptable for women to be underrepresented in STEM fields.
While there is not one explanation for the gender gap in STEM fields, gender bias start before children enter school. From an early age, boys are more likely than girls to be engaged in scientific conversation by parents. According to Saucerman and Vasquez (2014), based on an experiment conducted in a children’s …show more content…
The gender gap will likely decrease in communities where there is a large number of females STEM employees because stereotypical gender roles are challenged and younger girls have female role models in STEM fields to look up to (Riegle-Crumb & Moore, 2014.) Overall the gender gap between males and females in math and science courses is decreasing, with both taking an average of 7.4 math and science credits. However, females are still less likely to take upper level science courses, which included higher level biology, chemistry, and Pre-Calculus (Nord et al., 2011.) The decrease the gender gap in math and science overall shows the gender gap in STEM fields has the potential to decrease. However, the gap in higher level science and math courses shows that there is much room for improvement for gender equality in STEM …show more content…
When women do not see other women in STEM fields, there are few role models and the cycle continues. The effort to increase female interest in STEM does not decrease the risk of boys entering STEM fields (United States. Congress, 2010). According to both Rupe and Reimann, their interest in STEM fields was sparked and encouraged by their teachers (personal communication April 25, 2016). Encouraging all students to explore STEM fields, the message that boys are better at STEM topics, will be less of an obstacle for

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