The STEM industries (which stands for science, technology, engineering and math) are growing, and women are beginning to have higher levels of participation in these fields. That’s the good news. But there are still significant gender disparities that exist with STEM jobs, education and achievements. It’s common human resource knowledge that boosting the participation of women in the STEM workforce will lead to increased pay, higher confidence and increased feelings of acceptance in the workplace for these women, and it will also benefit the organizations that diversify their workforce. So… why hasn’t there been more forward motion in closing the gender leadership gaps in STEM?

Let’s view a snapshot of how women are currently represented in STEM jobs and education:

• The share of women in the STEM workforce is currently 50%. This is slightly higher than the 47% share of women who participate in the workforce overall.⁽¹⁾ And this is a dramatic increase from the 8% of women that had STEM occupations in 1970, and the 27% of female STEM workers that made up the workforce in 2019.⁽²⁾
• Women now make up 44% of college-educated workers in STEM occupations. But women hold dramatically higher percentages of employment in the lower paying fields of STEM. For example, there is a 78% share of women who work in the lower-paying field of psychology, and only 22% of women who work in the higher-paying field of engineering.⁽³⁾
• There is a large gender disparity when it comes to STEM inventors, with less than one-third of Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) applications having at least one female on the application.⁽⁴⁾
• There are less women with doctoral degrees than bachelor’s degrees in STEM across the board, but this disparity is actually largest in the above-mentioned sub-fields of STEM that actually employ higher percentages of women: biology, psychology and social sciences.
• The above disparity regarding females at top levels in education also applies in the STEM workforce: In 2019, only 29% of the science and engineering workforce was female, but 57% of women made up what are considered science and engineering related jobs, which include nursing and dental hygiene.⁽⁵⁾
•  An article from the Maryville University blog discusses some issues that women reported having that could be perceived as discrimination in the workplace. For example, some women felt they were held to higher standards than male co-workers, or they felt there was more pressure put on them to reduce their workload after having a child.⁽⁶⁾

There is a lot more work to be done. Parents, educators and women’s collegiate advancement organization have begun the process by encouraging young girls to explore different subjects, and providing them more opportunities to do so, such as science fairs and technology workshops. There are also calls for more STEM scholarships and grants for women. Private associations such as the Association for the Advancement of University Women (AAUW) has awarded $100 million in fellowships and grants to women since 1881, and 43% of these financial awards have been given to support women in STEM fields.⁽⁷⁾

Programs initiated by strong female leaders have been essential in enhancing the representation of women in STEM. The She Invents mentoring program, started in May 2020 data storage provider Western Digital, resulted in a 27% increase of female participation in the patent process.⁽⁸⁾ And organizations such as Girls Who Code, founded by Reshma Saujani, work with legislators to minimize the gender disparity that exists in tech in the classroom from kindergarten through 12^th grade.⁽⁹⁾ These are exemplary programs encouraging young girls and older students to follow the lead provided by strong women in STEM.

But what is missing is evidence of traditional leadership of those in positions to affect a corporation’s bottom line ─ board of directors members, directors of human resources, CEOs ─ to initiate those very critical foundational programs and ensure promotion of women to join them in strong leadership positions. To increase wages and confidence, and promote higher feelings of appreciation in the workplace, women and girls will need to see role models from whom they can be inspired to set their own goals and pave their future in STEM. 

Sources

1. Fry, Richard, et al. “Stem Jobs See Uneven Progress in Increasing Gender, Racial and Ethnic Diversity.” Pew Research Center Science & Society, Pew Research Center, 1 Apr. 2021. pewresearch.org/science/2021/04/01/stem-jobs-see-uneven-progress-in-increasing-gender-racial-and-ethnic-diversity/.
2. Christnacht, Cheridan & Martinez, Anthony. “Women are Nearly Half of the U.S. Workforce but Only 27% of STEM Workers.” United States Census Bureau, 26 Jan. 2021. census.gov/library/stories/2021/01/women-making-gains-in-stem-occupations-but-still-underrepresented.html
3. Seneviratne, Prathi. “Are Women Reaching Parity with Men in STEM?” Education Policy, Econofact, 15 April 2022. econofact.org/are-women-reaching-parity-with-men-in-stem
4. Tregillis, Cynthia & Truesdale, Sabra. “How female inventors can fix STEM’s gender gap.” The Davos Agenda, World Economic Forum, 19 Jan. 2022. weforum.org/agenda/2022/01/how-female-inventors-can-fix-stem-gender-gap/
5. Seneviratne, Prathi. “Are Women Reaching Parity with Men in STEM?” Education Policy, Econofact, 15 April 2022. econofact.org/are-women-reaching-parity-with-men-in-stem
6. Maryville University Blog. “Women in STEM: A Guide to Bridging the Gender Gap.” IEE Computer Society, n.d. computer.org/publications/tech-news/trends/a-guide-to-bridging-the-gender-gap
7. “7 Promising STEM Gender-Gap Solutions.” Getting Smart, 11 Feb. 2018. gettingsmart.com/2018/02/11/7-stem-gender-gap-solutions-that-appear-to-be-working/
8. Tregillis, Cynthia & Truesdale, Sabra. “How female inventors can fix STEM’s gender gap.” The Davos Agenda, World Economic Forum, 19 Jan. 2022. weforum.org/agenda/2022/01/how-female-inventors-can-fix-stem-gender-gap/9. “7 Promising STEM Gender-Gap Solutions.” Getting Smart, 11 Feb. 2018. gettingsmart.com/2018/02/11/7-stem-gender-gap-solutions-that-appear-to-be-working/