I am genuinely interested in all things ”Gender Equity in STEM”. This page is dedicated to links, images, and other materials I have found online. None of this work is my own. This page is just a compilation of the hard work others have done to understand and address gender inequities in STEM fields.
According to United Institute for Statistics (UIS data), less than 30% of the world’s researchers are women. Several studies have found that women in STEM fields publish less, are paid less for their research and do not progress as far as men in their careers.
The American Association of Women (AAUW) – Solving the Equation: The Variables for Women’s Success in Engineering and Computing (2015)
AAUW has published recommendations you can do NOW to encourage girls to follow a path in STEM fields. I have selected a few to share below and encourage any educator, mentor, friend, or family members to create environments that support women in science and engineering.
- Teach students about stereotype threat and promote a growth-mindset environment.
- Help girls recognize their career-relevant skills.
- Encourage high school girls to take calculus, physics, chemistry, computer science, and engineering classes when available.
- Take proactive steps to support women STEM majors.
For example, sponsor social events to help integrate women into STEM (YWIB STEM fairs, Girl Scouts, AAUW activities, etc.) - Educational institutions should conduct departmental reviews to assess the climate for female faculty.
- Educational institutions should support mentoring for all faculty.
- Educational institutions should support faculty work-life balance with stop-tenure-clock policies and on-site child care.
- Learn about your own implicit bias by taking an Implicit Association Test by Project Implicit, including AAUW’s own implicit association test on gender bias.
- Keep your biases in mind and take steps to correct them.
- Raise awareness about bias against women in STEM fields.
