Gender Inequality in Science, How It Can Be Solved
By: Danielle Sung and Brooke Ottaway
In the current generation, there are few girls and fewer women that take an interest in STEM. As the future jobs look increasingly digital, it will greatly affect the way we live. At most, 55% of the jobs will have a strong demand for technological skills, but by the time girls reach the age of higher education, only 30% choose STEM-related fields of study, particularly science, and the enrollment of mathematics, manufacturing, and health are even less. Multiple studies have proven that the main reason for female’s lack of interest in the STEM field is simple — from a young age, they do not receive the support they need in pursuing their career in STEM, and instead are discouraged, as the outdated teaching methods of the past few generations have the mindset that men are supposed to have careers in the fields of science and mathematics, not women. In order to reduce the gender disparity between males and females in STEM, many have suggested ways to encourage and engage young girls about STEM topics.
Educating girls about different careers in science is a great way to fix the gender gap. Currently, although many women have STEM degrees, many do not pursue a career in STEM. Showing them the relevance of science and their potential to be apart of it can be an effective way to get them interested. Young women may be inspired knowing that their perspective can be beneficial to the science world. There is, however, an additional aspect these educators would need to consider. It is important that young women know the workload that comes with breaking the stereotypes. In some jobs, women have to work twice as hard than their male colleagues, as the society today demands higher quality work from women, yet do not provide them the same amount of payment or approval. However, the more women in the STEM field, the more decreased this prejudice could become.
Specialized programs for women in STEM is another effective way to get women interested in science. As the gender disparity started to increase, many companies started projects to engage women in STEM activities. One example is the National Girls Collaborative Project. Their main goal is to make sure all girls have the resources to be educated and interested in STEM. NGCP develops a network of educators with higher quality and quantity resources to complete this goal. Another project is the Scientista Foundation. The founders noticed that women tended to drop out of science during certain stages in their career. This foundation address the needs of pre-professional women to help succeed outside of their education. More programs like these could help fix this gender gap in science.
Finally, women can get inspired by role models. One example is Brittany Wenger, who was only fifteen when she created an artificial brain to detect signs of breast cancer, and who now pursues her computer science major at Duke University. The artificial brain she created has its own app and is tested with two cancer research centers. Another role model girls can look up to includes Marissa Meyer, the current CEO of Yahoo, who is famous for her speech, “Those decisions all had two things in common: I always surrounded myself with the smartest people I could find, because they make you think about things harder… And I always did something I was a little not ready to do. I think that’s how you grow.” Additionally, role models lie in NASA’s “datanauts,” which is an all-women group of scientists that are lead by Jennifer Lopez, a molecular biologist, that will pioneer new insights from the exponentially growing repository of data that includes technical and scientific datasets, records, reports, simulations, videos, images, and other information. Role models show women a possible path or subject matter, and highlight that it is attainable to be a successful woman in STEM.
Although many believe it is practically impossible to fix the gender gap in the STEM field, as the disparity is growing every year, there is a solution to this problem. If the STEM field would like to develop in the future, fixing the male to female ratio in the field needs great attention, as this gender gap hampers new discoveries. Not only would fixing the gender ratio provide more jobs and opportunities in science and mathematics, but different backgrounds and perspectives help us find new ways to move forward, both in the field and in society. Start STEM education for girls at a young age, encourage them, point out all the amazing female role models in STEM, and support their journey.