“Gender and Race Matters”
in STEM
Notre Dame of Maryland University
Community Day 2014
Jocelyn McKeon and Angela Sherman
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Tale of two narratives:
Narrative #1: No Genetic Difference
Science and math aptitude is unrelated to gender, study suggests
January 2006, Vol 37, No. 1
http://www.apa.org/monitor/jan06/gender.aspx
Last January, Harvard University President Lawrence Summers, PhD, suggested that
men outperform women in high-level science and mathematics due to genetics, not life
experience. However, an analysis by Harvard University psychology professor Elizabeth
Spelke, PhD, in the American Psychologist (Vol. 60, No. 1) counters that suggestion. Her
review finds that boys and girls share the same biologically-based cognitive capacities
from which mathematical and scientific reasoning develop…
…[Spelke] found that the majority of studies suggested that both men's and women's
mathematical and scientific abilities have a genetic basis in cognitive systems that
emerge in early childhood. When researchers compare male and female infants' and
children's performances, they find that they perform equally well. For instance, 6month-old boys and girls equally perform simple additions and subtractions and
compare one small set to another.
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http://www.aauw.org/files/2013/02/Why-So-Few-Women-inScience-Technology-Engineering-and-Mathematics.pdf
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http://www.aauw.org/files/2013/02/Why-So-Few-Women-inScience-Technology-Engineering-and-Mathematics.pdf
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8MS6zubI
aQ
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Narrative #2: “On the ground”, experiential reality of differences
• Angela Sherman’s Story
• Mellody Hobson’s Story and Insights
http://www.ted.com/talks/mellody_hobson_color_blind_or_color_brave/transcript?language=en
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http://www.esa.doc.gov/sites/default/files/reports/documents/wo
meninstemagaptoinnovation8311.pdf
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http://www.census.gov/prod/2013pubs/acs-24.pdf
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http://www.esa.doc.gov/sites/default/files/reports/documents/womeninst
emagaptoinnovation8311.pdf
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http://www.esa.doc.gov/sites/default/files/reports/documents/educati
onsupportsracialandethnicequalityinstem_0.pdf
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Intent of First-Year College Students to Major in STEM Fields, 2006
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Why does it matter?
Attracting and retaining more women in the STEM workforce will maximize
innovation, creativity, and competitiveness…When women are not involved
in the design of these products, needs and desires unique to women may
be overlooked. For example, “some early voice-recognition systems were
calibrated to typical male voices. As a result, women’s voices were literally
unheard... Similar cases are found in many other industries. For instance, a
predominantly male group of engineers tailored the first generation of
automotive airbags to adult male bodies, resulting in avoidable deaths for
women and children” (Margolis & Fisher, 2002, pp. 2–3). With a more
diverse workforce, scientific and technological products, services, and
solutions are likely to be better designed and more likely to represent all
users.
http://www.aauw.org/files/2013/02/Why-So-Few-Women-inScience-Technology-Engineering-and-Mathematics.pdf
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RECOMMENDATIONS—WHAT CAN WE DO?
•Share the news about women’s achievements in STEM
•Teach students and teachers about stereotype threats
•Support programs that reach girls talented and gifted in STEM
fields
•Emphasize real-life applications in early STEM courses
•Support women in STEM majors—seminars, networking
events, STEM clubs
•Raise awareness about bias against women in STEM fields
http://www.aauw.org/files/2013/02/Why-So-Few-Women-in-ScienceTechnology-Engineering-and-Mathematics.pdf
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REFERENCES
http://www.aauw.org/resource/why-so-few-women-inscience-technology-engineering-mathematics/
http://www.esa.doc.gov/sites/default/files/reports/docume
nts/womeninstemagaptoinnovation8311.pdf
http://www.esa.doc.gov/sites/default/files/reports/docume
nts/educationsupportsracialandethnicequalityinstem_0.pdf
http://www.census.gov/prod/2013pubs/acs-24.pdf
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