Page 6 - Recruiting and retaining Girls in Stem

The Future The U.S. Department of Labor’s workforce projections for 2018 show that nine of the ten most rapidly growing occupations that require at least a Bachelor’s degree will need significant science and/or mathematics education and training. A large number of engineering and science occupations are predicted to grow more rap- idly than the average rate for all occupations. Many of the most dramatic increases will be seen in computer- and engineering-related fields – fields in which females cur- rently fill only one quarter (or less) of positions. In 2018, our nation will have more than 8.6 million STEM-related jobs available, and as many as three million of those jobs may go unfilled – or at least unfilled with American citizens. Females can help close this gap and help plug the leaks in our STEM pipeline. We have to act to increase the number of women in STEM fields – this is essential for our nation to stay competitive in the global economy. We must work to ignite girls’ interest in STEM subjects as early as elementary school and maintain that spark throughout their entire school career. This will greatly in- crease the likelihood of them continuing on to work in a STEM field. EXPOSURE AND IMAGE Unfortunately girls are still receiving the wrong message about their ability to suc- ceed in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) courses and later on, in STEM-related careers. Although women are now almost on a par with men in several formerly male-dominated fields, a dearth of females still exists in the areas of STEM. Research has demonstrated that STEM careers are often perceived as less likely than careers in other fields to involve helping people and working with people (i.e. communal goals). These kinds of misconceptions can significantly af- fect women’s career choices, as women tend to favor communal goals more than men. From infanthood, girls are dressed in pink and boys in blue. Boys are of- fered trucks and building blocks; girls are offered dolls to play with. Growing up, girls are usually tasked with household chores such as washing the dishes and do- ing the laundry, while boys are tasked with duties such as mowing the lawn and taking out the trash. This socialization trend continues throughout childhood, and into the school years. The end result is gender stereotyping in which certain attrib- utes, opinions and roles are assigned to a specific gender. This often carries over into decision making regarding career choices, with both sexes frequently choos- ing “traditionally gender appropriate” career pathways. 6