I decided to conduct a survey on 22 women in STEM, and 90.9% (20 of the respondents) believed that STEM fields are at a disadvantage because of the limited involvement of women. This will continue to affect future generations as less female representation can set back other women from joining. The respondents were also asked if they or anyone they knew experienced discrimination in a professional environment based on their race or gender. 86.4% responded yes, 18.2% replied with, and 13.6% replied no. The majority had experienced discrimination in their fields. This is not an uncommon case, as gender stereotypes are often depicted in STEM workforces. Other studies further emphasize the effects of the gender wage gap.
Why is there such a significant gender gap in the STEM workforce? Let's backtrack to a study conducted by Brenoe and Zolitz on Danish high school students over 20 years. As an attempt to discover the cause of the gender wage gap, their article, "Exposure to More Female Peers Widen the Gender Gap STEM Participation," claims that GPA plays a leading role. Brenoe and Zolitz found out that males are more likely to be confident in their abilities to pursue STEM. On the other hand, females are perceived -- by themselves and their classmates -- as less prepared or "suited" to enter STEM. Therefore, they were more likely to enter health-related studies (1038). They quoted "suited" to indicate that the girls were more likely to pursue a more societal standard of a “woman’s” responsibilities, such as cleaning, cooking, and taking care of kids. Since STEM requires a lot of time commitment, the perception they noted was that it may be difficult for many women to imagine how they will balance household duties with education.
In addition, Brenoe and Zolitz further claim that when a woman is pregnant and tries to proceed with her education, there may be discrimination within the institution, discouraging her from pursuing her dreams. Brenoe and Zolitz also claim that a woman growing up with parents that graduated from college may be less affected by other women joining STEM. However, a woman whose parents did not attend college may be more affected by those who join the STEM workforce. This may not always be the case, as many factors can play into this.
In another study, "Women Advancing in STEM Industries, However, Gender Gap Remains," Caitlin Kalinowski finds that women in STEM make up only 27% of the workforce. This gender imbalance could lead to the gender wage gaplack of female role models, gender stereotyping, lack of education, and motivation. Gender stereotypes such as "women are not as smart as men" or "women should stay home and look after the kids" all impact how women in STEM are treated. Looking down on someone because of their race or gender creates a hostile environment in the workforce and drives both men and women away. If the environment feels aggressive, others may be encouraged to join in the hostility, thus, closing off any opportunity for a person to feel welcomed.
What do you want to be when you grow up? This is a question that everyone gets asked, especially the younger generations. "I want to be a math teacher!" a young girl with pigtails screams. "I want to be an engineer!" a teen girl exclaims. STEM is a subject that many students may want to partake in during their school years. It is crucial to developing America's innovations and workforce. However, in Karen Horton’s study, "Closing the Gender Wage Gap through STEM," she claims that "Public school districts cut off programs and STEM-related programs are usually the first to go" (Horton). This sets an example for many students, especially younger girls in middle and high school, showing that STEM is impractical and should not be pursued. There is also a lack of exposure to STEM-related activities outside school grounds. Social norms expect girls to play with Barbies, dress up, and like pink. In comparison, the boys are expected to like gaming, programming, and play-fighting. Guidance is important. Horton encourages teachers, mentors, and parents to address these stereotypical issues and encourage students to pursue their dreams earlier, regardless of social norms (Horton). It was also stated that "While women make up over 57% of college graduates, only 14.8% of engineers in the workforce are women... 7% of mechanical engineers... 13% of aerospace engineers are women" (Horton). The gender imbalance creates a more significant division which discourages young girls when she reads over the percentages.
Cutting off STEM programs will lead to a larger gender wage gap and further discourage young girls from discovering it. Before the start of the pandemic, the use of technology was widely utilized throughout many countries. Ranging from online courses taught through another school to simple worksheets and tutoring sessions. Technology was readily available and STEM courses were not an exception. After the pandemic, online schooling grew as popular as ever. However, Jared Woodard's article, "Rotten STEM: How Technology Corrupts Education," claims that doing STEM programs online damages long-term memory and lowers test scores in math, science, and technology (Woodard). He further added that the purpose of STEM programs is to create a specific type of worker (Woodard). Although Woodard is not entirely wrong about that statement, it should be recognized that students have their own choice. Moreover, every job generates a specific type of worker. People are trained in society to carry out their duties when they have a job. He also talks about cutting the cost of STEM programs and applying the money to the teacher’s salary (Woodard). These are all effort to cut off online classes to learn effectively in a classroom. A person’s learning style is ambiguous and change over time.
A woman's pay is shaped by society. It may be challenging for many women to work long hours required by higher-paid occupations such as STEM because they tend to shoulder most caretaking duties. They may have children that they need to care for, and they will need to fulfill everyday chores. Women already pursuing a STEM degree may have dropped out of their college years to find employment. Additionally, it should be noted that many professions dominated by women are low-paid (Rogier). Low-paid jobs can feed into societal norms that women can not pursue higher ranks, such as doctors, lawyers, engineers, and so on. It encourages the gender stereotype and further expands the gender wage gap.
The gender wage gap is clear and hurts countless women across the board. It is a stubborn and complex concept. Although multiple reasons have been found for the cause of this gender wage gap, there is much more improvement to be made. Cutting off STEM programs, gender stereotypes, and student debt amounts to the wage gap. By making this concept transparent to women and men across the globe, it is encouraged to teach young girls to be confident in their choices. Kalinowski talks about the steady gain of women in STEM from 8% in 1970 to 27% in 2019 (Kalinowski). As many readers may know after reading the hare and tortoise race, “Slow and steady always wins the race!”
