According to a 2012 report by the U.S. Join Congress Joint Economic Committee
about 14% of the total engineering workforce is female
about 18% of total engineering undergraduate degrees are earned by females
Females represent 50% of the population. Yet they are vastly underrepresented in engineering, and STEM fields in general.
Some of you may ask: Why should we care? Is this disparity really causing any harm?
Below, Debbie Sterling explores this disparity and these questions in her TedxTalk. Debbie is the CEO and founder of her successful company, GoldieBlox, which creates toys that promote engineering among young girls (I recommend watching the whole video, but if you're really short on time the first four minutes do a good job of describing the importance of addressing this disparity).
As Debbie says, engineers are contributing to some of the most important advances in society. They are solving the biggest problems we face, and creating new technology that can change the world. Shouldn't females be equally involved in this process? Additionally, missing out on half of the population's perspective, skill, and talent, surely means we are missing out on vital advancement and technology. Engineers of all fields are also often ranked as some of the top paying jobs in the country. It is important for both society and females as individuals to reap the benefits that come with having more female engineers in our country.
A few other points: Debbie mentions worldwide testing results that show that girls outperform boys in STEM subjects in all countries except the U.S. She highlights that this means there is a cultural barrier--not something innate and biological about girls' intelligence-- restricting females in STEM fields. What is this culture? Well, that's what this blog hopes to unravel. It's a culture, as Debbie touches on, that teaches girls from a young age that they should be primarily concerned with their physical appearance, fitting into traditionally female roles, and not pursuing STEM fields because those are "for boys."
What do you think about GoldieBlox? Do you connect with the product? Want to buy it for a niece, daughter, cousin? Once again, here's the product link.
about 14% of the total engineering workforce is female
about 18% of total engineering undergraduate degrees are earned by females
Females represent 50% of the population. Yet they are vastly underrepresented in engineering, and STEM fields in general.
Some of you may ask: Why should we care? Is this disparity really causing any harm?
Below, Debbie Sterling explores this disparity and these questions in her TedxTalk. Debbie is the CEO and founder of her successful company, GoldieBlox, which creates toys that promote engineering among young girls (I recommend watching the whole video, but if you're really short on time the first four minutes do a good job of describing the importance of addressing this disparity).
A few other points: Debbie mentions worldwide testing results that show that girls outperform boys in STEM subjects in all countries except the U.S. She highlights that this means there is a cultural barrier--not something innate and biological about girls' intelligence-- restricting females in STEM fields. What is this culture? Well, that's what this blog hopes to unravel. It's a culture, as Debbie touches on, that teaches girls from a young age that they should be primarily concerned with their physical appearance, fitting into traditionally female roles, and not pursuing STEM fields because those are "for boys."
What do you think about GoldieBlox? Do you connect with the product? Want to buy it for a niece, daughter, cousin? Once again, here's the product link.
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