Jacob Deering
WOST 2350
Final Paper
Women in STEM
Why are there so few women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM)? The number of women in STEM is growing, but men continue to outnumber women. This is especially true at the upper levels of these professions. In high, middle, and elementary school, boys and girls both take the same number of math and science courses. Also, the number of girls and boys prepared to pursue STEM majors in college are the same, but strangely fewer women than men pursue the majors. Among freshman college students, women are less likely to admit that they had intended to major in a STEM field. At graduation, men outnumber women in almost every science, technology, math, and engineering field. …show more content…
“Well-documented gender differences exist in the value that women and men place on doing work that contributes to society, with women more likely than men to prefer work with a clear social purpose.” (Hill, Corbett, and Rose 2010) STEM careers often do not appeal to women sometimes because it is unclear of the social contribution of such careers. Creating interest and supportive environments for women is important to success in STEM careers. Children early on should be taught the benefits and contributions of STEM careers to society. To counteract the implicit bias against women, students can be taught of the biases associated with these careers. High, middle, and elementary schools should start adding films that promote women in scientific fields to their curriculum. Universities should start reaching out to high schools about the STEM fields they offer targeting specifically young women. They should emphasize the real life contribution to society. Another way to promote a supportive environment for women is to sponsor events and seminars to attract young women to STEM careers. From cognitive sex differences to workplace biases, women in STEM fields have been stereotyped and underappreciated. The answer to the question of why there are so few women in STEM is because of our unconscious perceptions and beliefs about men and women in society. Stereotypes, biases and cultural beliefs are not static and can be changed by education and research. With time and the ability to readily access a wealth of information on the internet, I believe that the biases and stereotypes that plague women today will become a thing of the
WOST 2350
Final Paper
Women in STEM
Why are there so few women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM)? The number of women in STEM is growing, but men continue to outnumber women. This is especially true at the upper levels of these professions. In high, middle, and elementary school, boys and girls both take the same number of math and science courses. Also, the number of girls and boys prepared to pursue STEM majors in college are the same, but strangely fewer women than men pursue the majors. Among freshman college students, women are less likely to admit that they had intended to major in a STEM field. At graduation, men outnumber women in almost every science, technology, math, and engineering field. …show more content…
“Well-documented gender differences exist in the value that women and men place on doing work that contributes to society, with women more likely than men to prefer work with a clear social purpose.” (Hill, Corbett, and Rose 2010) STEM careers often do not appeal to women sometimes because it is unclear of the social contribution of such careers. Creating interest and supportive environments for women is important to success in STEM careers. Children early on should be taught the benefits and contributions of STEM careers to society. To counteract the implicit bias against women, students can be taught of the biases associated with these careers. High, middle, and elementary schools should start adding films that promote women in scientific fields to their curriculum. Universities should start reaching out to high schools about the STEM fields they offer targeting specifically young women. They should emphasize the real life contribution to society. Another way to promote a supportive environment for women is to sponsor events and seminars to attract young women to STEM careers. From cognitive sex differences to workplace biases, women in STEM fields have been stereotyped and underappreciated. The answer to the question of why there are so few women in STEM is because of our unconscious perceptions and beliefs about men and women in society. Stereotypes, biases and cultural beliefs are not static and can be changed by education and research. With time and the ability to readily access a wealth of information on the internet, I believe that the biases and stereotypes that plague women today will become a thing of the