![]() ![]() The White House’s STEM Depiction Opportunities reported on the “CSI Effect,” saying how the increase of crime-scene investigation shows affected the number of forensic science applications at universities. This can be used as a tool to counteract inherent biases and the belief that STEM related careers are “too hard,” “too boring” and only for a “certain type of person.” Media Depictions: Children and teens typically consume large amounts of entertainment media. Encouraging girls who are already interested in STEM to keep studying the subjects is a good place to start. Just like there isn't a single cause for the tech gender gap, there are multiple ways to boost girls' interest in STEM. Internalized stereotypes can cause girls to feel like they don’t have the “right” skills to succeed in the field, which can deter them from studying STEM topics. People who lack confidence in their skills and future successes tend to limit themselves. Low Confidence: After a one-year study of its computer science program, Harvard found that women with eight years of programming experience are as confident as their male counterparts with zero to one year of experience. Not having an early introduction to computing skills, or not seeing how math and science can apply to technology careers, can affect girls' interest in STEM related topics.ģ. It also said that male students enroll in AP computer science programs at a much higher rate than female students (81% to 19%). Lacking Early Exposure: The NSF reported that male students (K-12) are more likely than female students to take engineering (3% to 1%) and computer science (7% to 4%) courses. These biases imposed on young girls can cause them to eventually turn away from STEM-related careers.Ģ. ” This is on top of highly intelligent female characters causing a sense of bewilderment in plotlines from of their perceived rarity. The White House’s Office of Science and Technology’s fact sheet on STEM Depiction Opportunities states “when it comes to portrayals of computer scientists and engineers, men outpace women 14.25 to 1 in family films and 5.4 to 1 in primetime. ![]() "Boys tinkering with computers" quickly became the narrative for “techie culture.” This made it tough for girls to pursue interests in technology.įast forward to an age where computers are a standard tool and source of entertainment for men and women alike, and the “computers are for boys” mentality can still be seen throughout media. Inherent Bias: As household computers hit the market, they were marketed toward young boys as toys. There are numerous reasons for this disconnect. In fact, Girls Who Code reported that although 74% of middle school girls express interest in STEM topics and careers, only 0.4% of high school girls choose pursue them in college. However, girls seem to disconnect with STEM topics as teenagers. Actually, the achievements of female and male students are quite similar. In grades K-12, both female and male students have similar levels of skill and participation in math and science. Why not start with the young minds already interested in STEM topics? This has started a public discussion on closing the gender gap in technology. Yet, the National Center of Women & Information Technology (NCWIT) reports that the number of women in computing occupations has declined since its 36% peak in 1991. Without these skilled ladies and many others, we wouldn’t have the technology we have today. Grace Hopper worked on the UNIVAC computer and defined the COBOL language.Jean Bartik helped create the first general purpose computer (ENIAC).Ada Lovelace wrote the first algorithm.Women have always contributed to technology development: ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |