Notes on Women in STEM Professions
Background
STEM fields (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) offer students some of the
most challenging and highest paying career paths in the world. The MIT School of Engineering
is selected for this report due to its position as a top school of engineering where most students
and faculty have achieved all types of scientific awards in STEM fields. The institution is famous
in the world attracting the best talent from all over the world. However, like most STEM
institutions in the world the overwhelming majority of students are male indicating a significant
gender gap. This provides the appropriate environment to examine the effectiveness of initiatives
that have been used including mentorship programs, scholarship programs and gender diversity
programs to appeal to women to join STEM professions.
Analytical Framework
Gendered career choices are an element of modern societies whereby women are
underrepresented in the STEM fields whereas men are underrepresented in the education, health
and welfare fields (Makarova, Aeschlimann, & Herzog, 2019). For example, women only
represent 13% of high ranking positions in engineering practice (Botella et al., 2019). Some
academics suggest that the reason is that men have been incentivized well in STEM fields while
women have been incentivized in the other careers (Reinking & Martin, 2017). For example, it
is a well-known fact that women have lower wages than men in almost every field and also face
the risk of losing their jobs if they wish to become parents (Charlesworth & Banaji, 2019). The
high demands of STEM professions mean that women have to balance their lives as mothers and
wives with long work hours and heavy workloads (Charlesworth & Banaji, 2019). The society
, has normalized the concept that men who work hard at their careers are doing so for their
families whereas women who do the same are viewed negatively. Educational institutions such
as universities have developed programs that aim to attract and support women in STEM fields.
One of the recurrent solutions is a mentorship program whereby young girls and women have
female mentors and role models capable of guiding them through their education process.
Bibliography
Botella, C., Rueda, S., López-Iñesta, E., & Marzal, P. (2019). Gender Diversity in STEM
Disciplines: A Multiple Factor Problem. Entropy, 21(1), 30. doi:10.3390/e21010030
This article examines the lack of gender diversity in technological companies and
academic study whereby the number of female students in STEM fields has decreased
over the past two decades. The paper examines the main barriers that women face while
in the STEM careers and in specific women in the information technology field. The
paper is important because it examines the challenges women face as well as a potential
solution based on an approach applied by the University of Valencia. The initiative looks
at applying four main actions including enhancing female role models visibility,
improved female leadership, a professional network and the provision of institutional
support. This is beneficial in discussing potential solutions to the gender gap in STEM
fields and their effectiveness.
Makarova, E., Aeschlimann, B., & Herzog, W. (2019). The Gender Gap in STEM Fields:
The Impact of the Gender Stereotype of Math and Science on Secondary Students'
Career Aspirations. Frontiers in Education, 4. doi:10.3389/feduc.2019.00060
Background
STEM fields (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) offer students some of the
most challenging and highest paying career paths in the world. The MIT School of Engineering
is selected for this report due to its position as a top school of engineering where most students
and faculty have achieved all types of scientific awards in STEM fields. The institution is famous
in the world attracting the best talent from all over the world. However, like most STEM
institutions in the world the overwhelming majority of students are male indicating a significant
gender gap. This provides the appropriate environment to examine the effectiveness of initiatives
that have been used including mentorship programs, scholarship programs and gender diversity
programs to appeal to women to join STEM professions.
Analytical Framework
Gendered career choices are an element of modern societies whereby women are
underrepresented in the STEM fields whereas men are underrepresented in the education, health
and welfare fields (Makarova, Aeschlimann, & Herzog, 2019). For example, women only
represent 13% of high ranking positions in engineering practice (Botella et al., 2019). Some
academics suggest that the reason is that men have been incentivized well in STEM fields while
women have been incentivized in the other careers (Reinking & Martin, 2017). For example, it
is a well-known fact that women have lower wages than men in almost every field and also face
the risk of losing their jobs if they wish to become parents (Charlesworth & Banaji, 2019). The
high demands of STEM professions mean that women have to balance their lives as mothers and
wives with long work hours and heavy workloads (Charlesworth & Banaji, 2019). The society
, has normalized the concept that men who work hard at their careers are doing so for their
families whereas women who do the same are viewed negatively. Educational institutions such
as universities have developed programs that aim to attract and support women in STEM fields.
One of the recurrent solutions is a mentorship program whereby young girls and women have
female mentors and role models capable of guiding them through their education process.
Bibliography
Botella, C., Rueda, S., López-Iñesta, E., & Marzal, P. (2019). Gender Diversity in STEM
Disciplines: A Multiple Factor Problem. Entropy, 21(1), 30. doi:10.3390/e21010030
This article examines the lack of gender diversity in technological companies and
academic study whereby the number of female students in STEM fields has decreased
over the past two decades. The paper examines the main barriers that women face while
in the STEM careers and in specific women in the information technology field. The
paper is important because it examines the challenges women face as well as a potential
solution based on an approach applied by the University of Valencia. The initiative looks
at applying four main actions including enhancing female role models visibility,
improved female leadership, a professional network and the provision of institutional
support. This is beneficial in discussing potential solutions to the gender gap in STEM
fields and their effectiveness.
Makarova, E., Aeschlimann, B., & Herzog, W. (2019). The Gender Gap in STEM Fields:
The Impact of the Gender Stereotype of Math and Science on Secondary Students'
Career Aspirations. Frontiers in Education, 4. doi:10.3389/feduc.2019.00060
