Women in STEM

A Mediaplanet Guide to Encouraging STEM Careers for Young Women

Women in STEM

Danica McKellar Why most women abandon STEM, and how to prevent it

How the “The Wonder Years” actress redefined herself and discovered a love for mathematics

Techbridge Girls is re-engineering STEM education to empower BIPOC girls

JUNE 2021 | FUTUREOFBUSINESSANDTECH.COM

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A stronger future for everyone starts with stronger education. nms.org

Helping Girls See Themselves in STEM

Beauty Meets Brains in Amy Gallant Sullivan’s Optocosmetics Line We ask Amy Gallant Sullivan about Èyes Are the Story, a wellnessmeets-beauty brand focused on eye health, as well as the gender barriers she’s faced as a woman in STEM. Èyes Are the Story prioritizes ocular health within the makeup industry. What inspired it?

Eye diseases are more prevalent among women than men — in part due to the use of eye makeup. I wanted to create a safe makeup line that prioritized ocular health.

What obstacles have you overcome as a woman in STEM? Male investors would always question me, from my looks to my brains. They’d ask whether my husband approved. Being a woman, people don’t think you’re willing to put in the work required to build something.

What is a piece of advice you have for the next generation of women in STEM? It’s possible to have a career that focuses on what you are passionate about. If you believe in something, work toward it.

Research it, build it, go for it. Turn it into something great.

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Karen A. Peterson Chief Executive Officer, National Girls Collaborative Project How can you plan for a future you have not seen? Research shows that representation and role models are critical for encouraging girls to pursue educational activities and career pathways in STEM. Building a future STEM workforce with more women and people of color is necessary; diverse perspectives and experiences are needed to address the many challenges facing society.

@FUTUREBUSINESSTECH

Debunking false perceptions When girls are shown successful females in STEM, it shifts their perceptions about who participates and increases girls’ identification with these skills and careers.

Seeing female role models also helps debunk myths about STEM fields — for example, some girls have a false belief that computer science is “isolating” or “not creative.”

Instead, studies show that being introduced to and engaging with role models demonstrates the collaborative aspects of STEM work and gives girls a more authentic understanding of the wide range of career options available.

For girls of color, cultural stereotypes of

STEM disciplines can be even more limiting. Girls and women of color may struggle to overcome perceptions of STEM as a career path better suited to white males. Research studies have shown that girls of color are often not recognized for their science skills and so may not develop a connection or interest in STEM. The intersectionality of gender, race, ethnicity, and class create compounding barriers.

The harmful effects of cultural representations Media and cultural representations of STEM all too often show the field as male-dominated and white. This limited representation prevents significant numbers

of youth from participating in educational opportunities and limits their ability to see a future for themselves in STEM. The National Girls Collaborative is excited to see that changing as multiple initiatives are working to increase media representation of women and people of color in STEM outreach.

The inequities in our current STEM workforce are not the result of gender, racial, or ethnic differences in abilities.

Rather, they reflect larger societal inequities and limited representation.

Parents and educators can change this by introducing youth to inspiring, diverse female role models, helping everyone see STEM as something that girls can, in fact, be.

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Publisher Seeley Lutz Business Developer Katie Konfıno Managing Director Luciana Olson Lead Designer Tiffany Pryor Designer Keziah Makoundou Lead Editor Mina Fanous Copy Editor Taylor Rice Partnership and Distribution Manager Jordan Hernandez Director of Product Faye Godfrey Cover Photo ©2015 Crown Media United States, LLC/Photographer: Katie Yu All photos are credited to Getty Images unless otherwise specifıed. This section was created by Mediaplanet and did not involve USA Today.

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SPONSORED

Women in STEM Are Crucial for the Next Generation If you support a woman in STEM, then she can change the world. That’s the message of the digital asset library of photos and videos led by the National Girls Collaborative Project (NGCP) called the “IF/THEN Collection.”

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Inspiring women Burçin Mutlu-Pakdil, a postdoctoral researcher, who has a Ph.D. degree in astrophysics, is featured in the IF/THEN Collection.

Growing up in Turkey, she was accustomed to people telling her “no.” In middle school, she chose Einstein as a role model. While her family supported her, she had to ignore discouraging voices from both society and male-dominated STEM fields.

“As a Muslim woman, I was constantly discouraged by society to pursue my dream in science, simply because of my

Chandler says the pandemic is a great example of how STEM skills are used.

“All of these people rallied together as scientists to do research, to find a cure in a vaccine,” she says. “Those people are not necessarily scientists wearing lab coats. They’re out in the field, doing things and talking to people, and testing out hypotheses.”

PHOTO: COURTESY OF NGCP

he platform is a component of Lyda Hill Philanthropies’ IF/THEN initiative, which is an extension of their commitment to fund game-changing advancements in science and nature. With a mindset that “science is the answer,” they’re empowering innovators and inspiring the next generation of women in STEM. “STEM is involved in everything we do,” says Nicole Small, CEO of Lyda Hill Philanthropies. “We want to show kids and little girls everywhere that women are leading fascinating, interesting careers that sometimes you might not necessarily associate with STEM.”

identity, and in each of these challenges, I reminded myself that I don’t want to blend in,” she says. “I want to stand out.”

When she was 22, Mutlu-Pakdil came to the United States to study. During her Ph.D. research, she discovered a two-ringed galaxy which is now named after her, Burçin’s Galaxy.

She’s committed to helping women feel accepted and appreciated in science.

“The main goal is to activate a cultural shift among young girls by providing them with a role model from my background,” she says. “I didn’t have that opportunity, and I am really passionate

about changing this, and providing the young next generation role models that they can identify with.”

Heather Chandler, a video game development consultant is another STEM professional featured in the IF/ THEN Collection. Her 25-year career includes three years as a senior producer on Fortnite, the most-played video game on the planet. She’s also led teams at Epic Games, Electronic Arts, Ubisoft, and Activision.

Growing up, Chandler played video games for fun.

She never thought it could be a career. In high school, she loved physics, chemistry, and

biology, and won an award in physics. While she was interested in exploring physics as a college major, she was the only girl in class.

She studied film and later decided to use her creative skills in the gaming industry.

“Playing games is fun but making them is better,” says Chandler, noting the gaming industry is open to people with lots of skills, not just computer programming.

Defying stereotypes A big STEM misconception is that all scientists wear lab coats. Women in STEM work in engineering, aviation, sports, creative arts, and more.

Visibility The concept of IF/THEN — “If she can see it, then she can be it” — helps young women envision themselves in STEM careers.

“Every little girl deserves to be able to see something and someone that looks like them, that’s passionate about something that they are,” says Small. “It gives them hope and possibility which we need in this world.”

Chandler agrees: “Visibility is so crucial because if you don’t have people who start doing it, it’s never going to widen out the field of vision.”

Kristen Castillo

Educators are sharing the IF/THEN Collection of images and videos of women in STEM careers with their students at www.ifthencollection.org/ search.

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Empowering BIPOC Girls for STEM Careers For 20 years, Techbridge Girls has been at the forefront of re-engineering STEM education so that BIPOC girls can live to their fullest potential.

As CEO of Techbridge Girls, I am fortunate to combine my passions for STEM, equity, and empowering girls into my everyday work. When you let girls thrive in STEM fıelds, not only do they create a better future for themselves, but they are creating a better world for us all.

Techbridge Girls exists because too many BIPOC girls are locked out of STEM. STEM education often focuses on rote learning, uses language centered on the white male experience, and does not adequately convey the potential of STEM to create a better world. TBG focuses on the historical and ongoing contributions of BIPOC women in the STEM fıeld while creating a safe space for girls to learn about, engage in, and build excitement for a STEM career.

The power of mentorship In my personal journey, I learned the power of mentorship, having a sense of belonging, and believing that my experiences as a Black woman are a unique asset. I was taught these principles through my mother, my fırst true mentor. She would bring me along to networking events for Black professionals where they could share and learn. Witnessing people lift one another through the interchange of ideas was empowering. Mastering technical skills while building social capital was a roadmap toward success.

The community, the connected experiences, feeling valued and seen, while having the ability to fail and be vulnerable together was a sacred space. This is the experience and environment that we hope for for our girls as they pursue a STEM career. A girl’s STEM journey is more than her technical knowledge. It is the collective power of her community, her understanding of how STEM can create change, and her champions that break down barriers and create space for her brilliance to thrive in this STEM revolution.

Nikole Collins-Puri, CEO, Techbridge Girls

This has been paid for by Techbridge Girls.

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Fighting the Gender Bias in STEM Although women make up over 50 percent of STEM degrees, only 28 percent of STEM jobs are fılled by women. Why do so many women abandon science and STEM after making a considerable personal investment to earn a degree?

It’s kind of a rhetorical question, because we already know the answer. Gender bias, harassment, and inequity are pervasive.

Gender bias AWIS held a screening of the film “Picture a Scientist” for our members last fall, followed by a Q&A with Dr. Jane Willenbring and co-director Ian Cheney. The film highlighted that 50 percent of women in STEM are harassed and that 90 percent of what occurs is unseen. Bias affects what is researched in science, who wins awards, who is published (women publish only about 35 percent of STEM research publications), who is patented (only 12 percent of U.S. patent holders are women), who is hired, and who is promoted (only 1 in 20 U.S. science department heads are women).

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From being underpaid and unrecognized, to being ignored in meetings, left off of emails, questioned, put down, sabotaged, or assaulted, women scientists in the United States face more barriers than men. Women of color, LGBTQ+ individuals, and those with special needs face additional, compounded bias and challenges.

To contend with this environment, women are often told to further develop themselves. Learn how to negotiate for a better salary.

Hone your decision-making skills.

Expand your emotional intelligence and leadership competencies.

These expectations ask women to adapt to the inhospitable environment in which they work. It is the environment that needs to change.

You can’t throw seeds on rocky ground and expect them to grow.

Improving the future Organizations need to create a welcoming culture. Develop ally and sponsorship programs for those in underrepresented communities. Establish flexible policies for caregivers, because this burden is carried by women more often than men. Invite people to speak up if

they see something, and be sure to listen when they do.

When hiring for a new role, cast a wider net to ensure a diverse pool of candidates. They exist. If you aren’t finding them, you aren’t looking hard enough. It may take longer, and you may have to seek out new sources. Check out the Career Center of the Association for Women in Science or resources from similar organizations. Set expectations for an inclusive culture, and most importantly, enforce them. Measure your progress by completing a self-assessment of your organization’s policies, procedures, and climate using the principles identified

by SEA Change or hire a third party like Gender Equity Now to evaluate your workplace culture.

It’s critical to keep women engaged in science and in STEM. We need the participation of all scientists to solve the world’s most pressing problems, from preventing and curing illnesses to ensuring clean water, food, air, and energy.

That is why AWIS is dedicated to championing the interests of women in science and breaking down those barriers.

Sandra W. Robert, CAE, CEO, AWIS

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Re-engineering the Way STEM Education is Taught!

We are reengineering the way STEM education is taught in order to center our girls’ brilliance and potential, with an emphasis on increasing STEM access, belonging, and persistence for BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of color) youth from marginalized communities. We believe that without BIPOC girls’ experiences, values, interests, voices, and brilliance, we will never experience the full possibilities of what STEM can do for our world. We are on a path to reach 1M girls by 2030 because we believe no girl should be shut out or left behind in this STEM revolution.

www.techbridgegirls.org

Foster a love of math in your young reader with these books perfect for learning at home or in the classroom!

Bathtime Mathtime Bathtime will be squeaky clean and sneaky smart fun in this board book that gives toddlers a head start on learning math by introducing the early addition concept of “counting on” — the idea that when we add one, we get the answer by simply counting on to the next number.

Ten Magic Butterflies Join 10 flower friends for a night of excitement that mixes a little math with a lot of magic. As each of the 10 adorable flowers turns into a butterfly, children will discover different ways to group numbers to create 10, an essential building block of math.

The Times Machine Mr. Mouse and Ms. Squirrel help introduce an entirely new way of memorizing multiplication facts, using colorful stories, silly rhymes, and more. Here, McKellar helps to break down the rules of multiplication and translate many of the (often confusing!) multiplication and division methods taught in today’s classrooms.

This has been paid for by Random House Children’s Books.

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We ask the actress and mathematics writer about her transition from child stardom to writing and what advice she has for future women in STEM. Acting was your fırst love.

Was being an actress always your end goal?

If you look at my heavily decorated notebooks from school, you’ll notice I had this dual love of performing and using my brain. In college, my plan was to be a film major. I took multi-V calculus, but I didn’t think I was going to be good at it. Even though I’d graduated from a difficult prep school and received a 5 on my AP exam, I thought I wouldn’t be able to handle college math because I didn’t look the part. I didn’t fit my own preconceived notion of who would be good at college math, because the class was mostly guys.

However, I ended up receiving the highest score in the class on my first midterm. After that, I was hooked and was redefining myself.

Child stars can struggle because our identity is often wrapped up in the character we play. When we leave that role, we wonder “What do I have to offer now?” Math filled that void. I went back to acting, and simultaneously have been writing mathematics books. Balancing my two passions shows me you can really do it all.

Why do you think math is so daunting to so many women?

Looking back, what changes do you think have occurred between when you were a young girl and now?

Girls’ and boys’ brains develop in different ways and at different times.

Generally speaking, boys develop logical problem solving early, while girls develop reading and language skills earlier. By around 6th grade, it evens out and either side catches up. So, while boys might be better

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Danica McKellar On the Benefits of Struggling in Math sooner at math, it doesn’t mean they are forever better. We, as parents, try to decide what our kids are going to be, and the stigmas begin way too early. We condition girls to believe that they aren’t good at math because we give up on them way too soon. Let the learning process happen naturally and slowly, and show them great role models across all fields. When their skills are developed, they’ll be perfectly set up to pursue their passion without negative self-perception.

What is a piece of advice you have for the next generation of women in STEM?

PHOTO: ©2015 CROWN MEDIA UNITED STATES, LLC/PHOTOGRAPHER: KATIE YU

McKellar’s Bestsellers: Making Math Fun

Struggling in math is good. Many kids have the perception that they are born good at math or bad at math, but this isn’t true at all.

Struggling in math is good and it makes you stronger. You may think you can’t do something initially, but when you stick it out and solve it, that experience is invaluable.

It teaches your brain that no matter what obstacle comes at you, whether a problem in math or in life, you can tackle it in the end, even if it seems impossible to begin with. That experience builds fortitude and strength. To struggle in math is one of the greatest gifts math can give to your future.

Women make up only 28 percent of STEM professions in the United States, and they hold the secret to stopping the STEM pipeline from leaking.

According to a 2019 U.S. Census Bureau report, the amount of STEM professions held by women has only increased from 24 percent to 28 percent in the last 10 years. Among many contributing factors for this gap, an important one is the retention problem that exists in STEM. “Leaky pipeline” is a popular term used to signify this problem. We lose almost 40 percent of women who enter the field within the first 3-5 years, due to numerous factors ranging from motherhood to lack of workplace support and poor culture. One issue is that many women don’t feel seen in STEM professions, as there is a major lack of community and mentorship for women in STEM. More than statistics Interestingly, I came across some of these statistics at the exact time in my career when I wasn’t sure about my own future in STEM. I moved to the United States from India in 2012 to pursue a Master’s in Mechanical

Engineering and started working in the manufacturing industry right after graduation. One night after dinner, I read an article that highlighted the gender gap in STEM, and the numbers shocked me. It stated that only 14 percent of mechanical engineering graduates were women.

The next day at work, I saw a contrast to these statistics. I noticed that, at the time, all of the engineers on my team were women.

This contrast between statistics and my reality kept showing up and forced me to look at this leaky pipeline problem with a new perspective. I thought, why don’t we celebrate the existing 28 percent women in STEM? Why not share their stories, to not only attract more girls in STEM, but also to retain the ones like me who are already here? To accomplish exactly that, I launched my podcast Her STEM Story and, later, the Wonder Women conference. My aim was to give existing women in STEM relatable role models that can encourage them to stay and grow in their professions. I strongly believe that if women feel seen and celebrated, they are more likely to climb the ladder and bring other women along. After inter-

PHOTO: KIM CHAUVIN PHOTOGRAPHY

How Storytelling Can Fix the Leaky Pipeline in STEM

How Olympia LePoint Went From Failing Math to Building Rockets

viewing over 150 women in STEM and interacting with 50,000 more, I am convinced that the stories of these women hold one of the many keys that we need to unlock a gender-equal STEM workforce.

Retaining women in STEM Her STEM Story is proof that women in STEM are more than statistics; we are part of the solution. The beauty of this solution is that we can start where we are, without anything more. We can start by sharing our struggles online or in-person with our team members, we can offer our time to mentor another woman who’s right behind us, and we can create our own community to highlight the importance of gender balance in STEM. If you are a woman in STEM, I invite you to share your story. Don’t hesitate. We need to know why you have stayed, how your contribution is changing the world, and how your example can motivate others to join and grow in STEM. Your STEM story can be a huge contribution to fixing this leaky pipeline, one powerful woman at a time!

Prasha Dutra, Founder, Her STEM Consulting LLC & Host, Her STEM Story Podcast

We asked Olympia LePoint about her path to becoming a rocket scientist and her advice for young women interested in the fıeld.

Tell us a little more about your story and your progression from being a kid who struggled in math to where you are now.

Growing up, we lived in the middle of gang violence, and this fear translated into diffıculties at school.

I took fear with me and allowed it to stop me. At 16, a calculus teacher helped me realize that I was smarter than I thought I was. In that moment, I decided that I was going to do things that were challenging. I owed it to myself to do that.

What has been your proudest achievement in life?

Achieving my bachelor’s degree.

Where I grew up, your inevitable future is to become a drop-out or a victim of gang violence. I defıed that and decided my own future. That’s why I’m such a passionate supporter of education.

STEM classes have not been popular amongst women. Why do you think that is, and how do you think it’s progressed?

When I fırst started my career, I would be the only woman in a room of 200 men. I had to learn how to communicate effectively with those men so they could improve the engine design with my knowledge. I learned that women communicate differently than men, and they have brilliant systems thinking and can fınd one solution that will solve many different problems. Although more diversity is still needed, I’m happy to say that now I’m no longer the only woman in the room.

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