STEM and women: Changing era

STEM, which is an integration of the disciplines of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics, has contributed majorly to the all-round growth and development of humans. The world is soaring rapidly through the implementation of STEM techniques in daily life. However, the human disciplines themselves have become one of the major impediments in the balanced growth and development of humans. STEM has empowered humans in every field, whether its trade, medical, defence, agriculture, education, etcetera. Nevertheless, the balanced development is hampered at the hands of human disciplines. Psychological and sociological factors are also setting the major challenges for the success of women in STEM fields. These factors don’t let women access equal opportunities or excel in STEM fields.

Some facts marking the growth lag of women

The share of women workforce in STEM fields is significantly low. In 2016, women accounted for less than one-third of the total workforce in scientific research and development in the world. Though the representation of women among the boards of directors has risen from drastically from 14.8% in 2018 to 17.9% in 2019, it remains low as compared to other non — STEM industries. Despite this sharp increase in directorship, women still account for 16% of managers in the IT industry globally. Adding icing to the cake, women also face disparities in STEM education. Very few women earn STEM degrees across the globe. According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), only 35% of students in higher education are women globally. Black women are subject to even greater disparities. In 2017–18, the women of colour achieved only 14.1% of the bachelor’s degree in all STEM fields, among which black women shared only 2.1%, and American Indian/Alaska Native women shared just 0.1% in the United States. Women have always been consistent victims of labour exploitation in the tech industry. In the United States, women in STEM industries were paid an estimated 80.7% of men’s annual median earnings in 2018.

Why women still stand back in the changing era?

Women are considered to have lesser intellectual abilities since birth. Parents and teachers often underestimate the intellectual abilities of girls from the start of their pre-school. This myth forces the girl child to regard herself weaker in mathematics and computer science. This myth settles into the psychology of women, and they end up quitting higher education and career in STEM fields. Due to the lesser participation of women in STEM fields, there are very few role models or inspiring stories for women that further lead to lesser participation of women in STEM careers. It becomes a vicious circle. The lesser participation of women gives birth to male-dominated cultures in STEM education and employment. Male-dominated cultures make the workplace frightful for women.

Though the world is witnessing the era of change, the word ‘change’ is still a mere dream for women. There’s still a huge amount of potential in STEM fields for women. Women still need more power.

Manshi Chauhan