Have you ever wondered about a time when we would all live like The Jetsons? Or of a time like the Flintstones? I have. I have wondered of a world with no science and technology and perhaps even before the invention of the wheel. If we want to be more like the Jetsons than the Flintstones, we have to be able to understand and use STEM (STEM is an acronym for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics). The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that 1.4 million tech jobs will be awaiting STEM graduates by 2020, but women and minorities are not going to be full participants unless we change the way we support them in the fields. The science and engineering workforce is overwhelmingly white and male. “African Americans, Hispanics, American Indians and Alaska Natives, historically underrepresented racial groups account for 10 percent of the country’s workers in science and engineering in 2010, ” (USN). Though half of all collegeeducated workers in the United States are women, only about 30 percent of science and engineering workers in 2010 are women (USN). It is not the lack of interest or talent that causes this issue, it is the shortage of opportunities. There are many multicultural women and men interested in breaking into the industry, but they are unable to. The pressing question then becomes, why? If there are many technological and scientific minds ready and willing to work, and a mixture of tech companies, such as Google and Facebook, trying to fix their diversity issues, what is the problem? It’s a difficult question to answer.The cycle that keeps women and minority groups out of STEM fields starts with the biases that children learn at a young age and that are reinforced by their parents, friends, and the media. These biases make their way into the decision making of students. “Fewer than 21 percent of female characters in primetime programs, children’s shows, and family films are depicted as working in these fields,“ (Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media). Visibility matters! Dr. John Matsui, and Assistant Dean of Biology at UC Berkeley, says, “I think role models are very important, and if role models are lacking, people who look like us and people with whom we can relate, then I think that is one bottleneck.” The cost of college also plays a huge role in forcing women and minorities to leave STEM fields. Today, college debt has forced many women and minorities to leave STEM field in their search for a higher paying careers after they graduate. “A recent study published by the American Institute for Research supports this thesis. The July report, Leaving Stem: Stem PhD Holders in NonStem Careers, crunched numbers from a National Science Foundation study tracking Stem doctorates from 1950 to 2010. In that time, one in five women or African Americans with PhDs had left the field, citing pay as one of several factors, ” (The Guardian). So far I have concentrated only on the causes of this issue, I now want to turn to the solution to this issue. In order to narrow this gap, it is important to nurture and encourage students who express an interest in math and science before middle school and support them through college by creating more programs like the IIT Boeing scholars Academy, code.org and Made with Code. The IIT Boeing Scholars Academy is a free, twoyear academic enrichment program that inspires highachieving Chicagoarea high school students to make a difference in our communities through STEM and pursue higher education. I was fortunate enough to participate in this program last summer and learned a lot about the different opportunities and careers residing in STEM. Made with Code is a partnership between Shapeways and Google, combining science and technology with the world of 3D printing. I was fortunate enough to code my own bracelet through Made with Code. Code.org is a nonprofit organization that aims to encourage school students in the U.S to learn code, and about 45,139,447 people have tried an hour of code.
To many, the word “Science” probably brings to mind many different pictures: a fat textbook, Einstein’s theory of relativity equation, bubbling beakers, white coats and microscopes. All of those images reflect some aspect of science, but they do not provide a full picture because science is many things. Science is a story that helps us understand the world around us. We have all become so dependent on science and technology that a life without it seems like a nightmare. Science affects us all, every day of the year, from the moment we wake up and even through the night. Your alarm clock, the antibiotics that treat your infection, computers, phones, electricity, Siri are only a few of the things that have been brought to you courtesy of science. Science does not tell the future it builds it. Science and technology fields continue to grow in both relevance and size. The lack of women and minorities in STEM affects people on a global scale because products being created are created by a mostly white male group, and lack the insight and experience of million others. We all need to pull together to ensure that everyone can participate in the future we dream of, an environment that helps women and minorities excel as students and STEM professionals. I want to see our STEM classrooms full of bright, enthusiastic students, female and male in approximately equal proportions, who are excited about the challenge of applying scientific and engineering principles to problems facing our society. Thank you! Works Cited: Gender stereotypes stem from the distribution of women and men into social roles. Eagly, Alice H.; Steffen, Valerie J. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Vol 46(4), Apr 1984, 735754.http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/00223514.46.4.735 Alan Neuhauser. "Minorities, Women Still Underrepresented in STEM Fields, Study Finds." US News. U.S.News & World Report, 6 Feb. 2014. Web. 12 Oct. 2014. <http://www.usnews.com/news/stemsolutions/articles/2014/02/06/minoritieswomenstillunderrepresentedi nstemfieldsstudyfinds>. Jennie Wood. "Louder Than a Bomb, a Teen Poetry Slam Dunk." Infoplease. Infoplease, n.d. Web. 12 Oct. 2014. <http://www.infoplease.com/nationalpoetrymonth/louderthanabomb.html>. Weinstein, Jerry. The Guardian. The Guardian, 13 Oct. 2014. Web. 14 Oct. 2014. <http://www.theguardian.com/sustainablebusiness/2014/oct/13/jobsstemsciencetechnologyengineering mathemploymentcollegedegrees> National Science Foundation, National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics. 2013. Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities in Science and Engineering: 2013. Special Report NSF 13304. Arlington, VA. Available at http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/wmpd/. "IIT Boeing Scholars Academy » About." IIT Boeing Scholars Academy » About. N.p., 25 Sept. 2014. Web. 17 Oct. 2014. <http://blogs.iit.edu/boeing_scholars/people/>.