<p>Studying the role of culture
I see so many talented young women with strong interest in STEM, including physics (which has one of the lowest percentages of women)I know these fields are attractive to them, until something changes their minds, said Meg Urry, chair of the physics department at Yale University and director of the Yale Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics.</p>
<p>The problems have to be about culture and environment. The enormous differences between countries in the percentage of scientists and engineers who are women demonstrates this very clearly.</p>
<p>Im afraid all the evidence points to obstacles and discouragement for women going into STEM fields in the U.S., Urry continued, adding: The good news is, this means we can greatly increase the participation of women in STEM, if only we can remove these obstacles and substitute encouragement for its opposite.</p>
<p>Samantha Bonar is an author and freelance writer based in Pasadena, Calif.</p>
<p>I didn’t see her supply any evidence or data to back this up, am I missing something? Is there any data that shows many other nations have a higher % of females going into STEM than the US?</p>
<p>Oh, please! IMHO, STEM is being pushed at young girls the way marriage and motherhood was 50 years ago, and in its own way, it’s just as bad. Did it ever occur to people that some people, male and female, just do not like math or science, never have and never will? And moreover, that it’s OK not to like math or science? It does not make you a bad person!
There was a big flap about a year ago over one of the trendy teen clothing chains selling a shirt that said “Allergic to Algebra.” It was all over the Internet that it was sending a bad message to girls, etc. What if that shirt had said “History is Bunk”? All these so-called feminists would probably think it was cute!
The social sciences and humanities forever !!!</p>
<p>I’m not buying it. There are scholarships and special programs for women going into STEM majors. The BioMedical engineering programs are colleges my son looked at all had more women than men in them.</p>
<p>I have observed that girls who are good in math are frequently encouraged to go into STEM fields, especially engineering. D got that all the time. Interestingly, no one has suggested that to S. Doesn’t matter, neither of my kids has the slightest interest in STEM majors.</p>
<p>I don’t buy it either. Now, if those women graduate and don’t pursue whatever job classifications were used to make the article’s claims, that’s a whole different discussion…but there is no indication other than a sweeping statement that it must be something in the culture or environment. I could make a similar blog and say that women don’t stay in STEM related job classifications because in general women are better at multi-tasking and other female related traits that move them into other positions that don’t fit the classification. Let’s face it the strength of most STEM related work early after graduation is focus on a singular task or problem over an extended period of time. That’s not cultural…might be called environmental.</p>
<p>As a woman in the sciences, I feel like many, many girls are being encouraged to go into a STEM field. I feel like American culture in general seems to place STEM fields of higher importance and difficulty than others, and many kids are pushed into it (some of whom may not have the aptitude nor the interest).</p>
<p>To be honest, after grading free response exams in the sciences for a couple of years, I would much rather kids get encouraged to read and write, so they can develop some writing skills before they enter a STEM field.</p>
<p>My D plans to be a physics major, starting college in a few weeks. One thing that put her off was the small number of women professors and female physics majors at some of the colleges she was accepted to. She picked a college for undergrad with a larger-than-usual contingent of female professors in physics and a strong program (hard to find that combo, but she did). She knows if she continues on to grad school she will likely be back in the “boys club”, but figured she might as well take advantage of an undergrad environment where she could be with other women and be mentored by women.</p>
<p>Considering where we were back when I was growing up, I’d say women we’ve come a long way, baby. If girls don’t want to go into STEM fields, it’s because they either aren’t interested or aren’t prepared. In the case of the former, many boys are not interested in STEM fields, either. In the case of the latter, I believe there is some evidence that U.S. students may not be as well prepared for STEM fields as perhaps they need to be in order to excel in those fields.</p>
<p>I have noticed that there are some STEM majors/careers that seem to be more evenly split (e.g. biology/medicine, pharma) and ones that really do still seem to be primarily male (physics, pure math).</p>
<p>I don’t think anyone is trying to keep women out of STEM fields, but it’s possible that the way STEM fields are portrayed (to both genders) tends to discourage women. For the most part, I think girls opt out of STEM fields because they don’t think they’ll be interested, but their perception of the field they’re not interested in might be inaccurate or based on stereotypes about what scientists/engineers/mathematicians are like.</p>
50% of my staff are women. They get married, have babies and come back to work. I raised 2 girls while working full time in finance/technology. Do women’s brain change when they have children?</p>
<p>^^I agree. I think people are successful in careers when they find something they enjoy and they can do well in a field they find interesting. I think expecting parity in any given job classification or industry is pointless and doesn’t add value to society.</p>
<p>In any work intensive (Is that the word?) career you’re going to get women who shy away from those positions. This becomes more prominent when you climb higher up the ladder.</p>
<p>It’s not the American culture that’s pushing women out. It’s the lifestyle that comes with the career that pushes women out. This is not a bad thing. It’s just what it is.</p>
<p>Spare me your pompous attitude. I’ve climbed the ladder and raised two very competent daughters. Just in case you missed the memo, any senior level jobs require dedication and focus, not just STEM jobs. FYI - I can breath, talk, walk and chew at the same time, and maybe spit gum out at the same time.</p>
<p>In any work intensive (Is that the word?) career you’re going to get women who shy away from those positions. This becomes more prominent when you climb higher up the ladder.</p>
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<p>Seriously!!! You have much to learn.</p>
<p>And given your last comment, I suggest you give it a rest. You are insulting the women on this board, and until you grow up and find out what the real world is like, you might do well to refrain from “arguing” this point.</p>