STEM in Women's Education

As society progresses technologically, it is of the utmost importance for women to learn about STEM – or science, technology, engineering, and math - related fields. Integration of information technology into women’s education is vital for the success of women around the world. According to the National Center for Women and Information Technology, girls are “significantly underrepresented in technical occupations.” Because the computing industry is one of the fastest-growing industries and computer-related jobs are among the highest-paying, the lack of participation of women in this societal sector has daunting ramification not only for the female population, but also for the future of technological innovation.

Currently, society is missing out on the perspectives that essentially half of the population might bring to technology. As in any field, diversity is key to problem-solving, production, and invention; therefore, women’s input in this field would only prove beneficial. Moreover, women not participating in this sector only plays into social inequalities and educational barriers that women face all over the world. The U.S. Department of Labor estimates that between 2010 and 2020, there will be greater than 1.4 million computer-related job openings in the United States alone. With current graduation rates, only 30% of those jobs would be filled with U.S. computer graduates, with a drastically lesser percentage of those being female graduates, AND as increasingly larger percentages of women leaving the field. Even though women in the U.S. comprise 48% of the current workforce, only 24% of the current jobs within STEM related fields in America are held by women.

That is staggering!

We must change this, or we threaten future generations with a dearth of potential technological innovation.

As it is, the Association for Computing Machinery and the Computer Science Teachers Association report that, in spite of the increasing ubiquity of technology and increasing need for computer science experts, computer science education (particularly in the U.S.) is on the decline.

To incite change, women must be reminded and see themselves as true leaders. According to Intel.com, 74% of girls express interest in STEM related fields, but only 0.3% choose computer science as a major IF they enter into collegiate education. We MUST empower girls to believe in their own natural abilities, even ones that have in the past been erroneously associate with masculinity. Programs relating to STEM fields and geared toward women will aid in this effort.

 It will assure societal growth and, in the end, true human progress.

-By Marissa Mitchell