Women in STEM--What's the Problem?

In the early nineties, nearly two decades ago, I received phone calls from educators around the country about the lack of young women in U.S. Department of Labor School-To-Work demonstration sites. In 1994, I testified as an expert before both the U.S. House and Senate about my research documenting the absence of young women in many "model" sites in hearings for the School-To-Work Opportunities Act. The Act--which passed--was designed to facilitate the creation of a universal, high-quality school-to-work transition system. The result of my testimony was a provision, which I helped draft, to ensure the participation of girls in School-To-Work programs.

Nearly 20 years later, I am once again receiving phone calls and emails from educators, except now it is about the lack of girls in STEM academies. This is despite President Obama's "Educate to Innovate" campaign, which cites as one of its three goals to "... expand STEM education and career opportunities for underrepresented groups, including women and girls."

So what is the state of STEM education for girls? Unfortunately, numbers don't exist for the percentage of girls in STEM academies across the U.S. The most recent career and technical education statistics at the secondary level from the U.S. Department of Education are from 2005, and they show very low numbers of female students in STEM. For example, female high school students made up only 15% of engineering technologies concentrators, 8.5% of manufacturing, 14.5% in computer and information sciences, and 9.6% in construction and architecture (National Center for Education Statistics, 2005).

After high school, the statistics also show that there is still more work to be done to increase the number of women in STEM. In 2007, females made up 58% of two-year college enrollment; however, in 2006-2007, females received only 15% of the A.S. degrees in engineering technologies (Milgram, 2010). In 2010, only 18.1% of four-year engineering degrees went to women (Gibbons, 2011). In 2008-2009, the percentage of women receiving degrees in other areas was also low: 17.8% of computer science degrees, and 0% of degrees for programs such as energy management and petroleum engineering (National Center for Education Statistics, 20082009).

Why is it important to have more women in STEM? The absence of women from STEM education and careers affects more than the women; it is a missed opportunity for those fields. Women bring a different perspective that shapes and influences STEM disciplines. Having more women in the picture will not only help women themselves, it will also help society benefit from their expertise--whether it's ensuring women are included in clinical trials for medical research or developing a prosthetic knee that works better for women. We are all enriched when women fully contribute to the advancement of science and technology. In addition, women should not miss out on fulfilling, rewarding careers in technology. A July 2011 report from the U.S. Department of Commerce shows that, over the past 10 years, growth in STEM jobs was three times as fast as growth in...