FEATURE STORIES
W
omen in the Werth College of Science, Technology, and Mathematics at Fort Hays State University are breaking ground in many exciting areas. Just a few of their research topics include: Mass-extinction paleoecology. Antibiotic resistance and public health epidemiology. Sustainable food and fiber systems. The Super Dual Auroral Radar Network. Historically, women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) have been underrepresented, and due to misinformation about women’s interests and abilities, this gender gap has persisted. In the early 1990s, researchers began investigating this gap to discover ways to empower women and girls. “The more we have learned about women in STEM, the more we have
realized the damage done by false narratives,” said Dr. Grady Dixon, dean of the Werth College of Science, Technology, and Mathematics. “Women are just as interested in science as men, and often more capable, but there are barriers in the way to their success.” Despite efforts to encourage women in STEM, women only represent only 28% of the STEM workforce. Moreover, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, women in STEM are paid 19% less on average than their male counterparts. The gap is even wider for women of color. While progress has been made to narrow the gender gap in STEM (the National Center for Education Statistics reports a 43% increase from 2009 to 2016), the lingering disparity of women in STEM careers reminds us that much work is left to be done. ROAR
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Globally, women represent about 30% of all scientific researchers and about 35% of STEM students. Here in Tiger Nation, women represent 34% of students in the Werth College of Science, Technology, and Mathematics, aligning with national numbers but significantly less than the proportion of women enrolled across all degrees at Fort Hays State — 61%. When we analyze the representation of women at the faculty level in FHSU’s Werth College, women represent 28% of faculty, 18% of tenured faculty, and only one full professor (you’ll learn about her journey in STEM on the next pages). However, Fort Hays State has made progress in improving these numbers over the years. For example, the college has increased the proportion of women faculty by 12% percent in the last year with some great new hires,
SPRING/SUMMER 2021
