Careers Have no Gender
Colorado Collaborative for Girls in STEM
Jennifer Jirous
STEM & Arts Program Director
Colorado Community College System
Inventions by Women
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10.
Kevlar (1964 ) Stephanie Kwolek
Nystatin (1950) Rachel Fuller Brown and Elizabeth Lee Hazen
Windshield wiper (1903) Mary Anderson
Dishwasher (1886) Josephine Cochrane
Square bottom paper bag (1871) Margaret Knight
Colored flare system (1857) Martha Coston
Compiler and COBOL Language (1950’s) Grace Hopper
Liquid paper (1958) Bessie Nesmith
Chocolate Chip Cookie (1930) Ruth Graves Wakefield
Circular saw (1812) Tabitha Babbit
STEM Sources
 Women in STEM: A Gender Gap to Innovation (2011)
U.S. Department of Commerce
Economics and Statistics Administration
ESA Issue Brief #03-11
 Why So Few? Women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and
Mathematics (2010)
American Association of University Women
 Colorado’s K-12 STEM Ed Report Card (2011)
STEMConnector
Women in STEM:
A Gender Gap to Innovation
U.S Department of Commerce
Economics and Statistics Administration Issue Brief
August 2011
What is a STEM job?
Professional and technical support
occupations in the fields of
computer science and
mathematics, engineering, and life
and physical sciences
Source: U.S. Department of Commerce: Economics and Statistics Administration, ESA Issue Brief #04-11, August 2011.
National Statistics (2009)
 7.4 million workers in STEM jobs or 5.3% of the
population
 91% of STEM jobs require post-secondary
education (2018)
 Occupational area
 47% Computer and mathematical science
 32% Engineering and surveying
 12% Physical sciences
 8% STEM management jobs
Source: U.S. Department of Commerce: Economics and Statistics Administration, ESA Issue Brief #04-11, August 2011.
Colorado Statistics (2011)
 232,000 STEM-related jobs by 2018
 $74,958 Average salary (2005-2008)
 Occupational area
 115,000 Computer and Mathematical Science
 58,000
Engineers and technicians
 30,000 Life and physical sciences
 17,000 Architects and technicians
 12,000 Social Sciences
Source: Colorado’s K-12 STEM Ed Report Card 2011, STEMConnector, 222.stemconnector.org
Women in STEM jobs
 Women comprise 48% of workforce but only 24% of
STEM workers
 Earn 33% more than women in non-STEM jobs
making the wage gap smaller in STEM jobs than in
non-STEM jobs
 Those with STEM degree less likely than males to
work in STEM occupation; more likely to work in
education or healthcare
Source: U.S. Department of Commerce: Economics and Statistics Administration, ESA Issue Brief #04-11, August 2011.
Despite the positive trends in
high school, the transition from
high school to college is a critical
time for young women in
STEM (science, technology,
engineering, and mathematics).
Why So Few?
Women in Science, Technology,
Engineering, and Mathematics
American Association of
University Women (AAUW)
2010
www.aauw.org
Women are less likely than men are to declare
a STEM major in college.
Intent of First-Year College Students to Major in Science and Engineering Fields,
by Gender, 2006
Physical sciences
Mathematics/ statistics
Engineering
Computer sciences
Biological/ agricultural sciences
35
Percentage
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Female
Male
Source: Commission on Professionals in Science and Technology. Data derived from Cooperative Institutional Research Program, Higher Education Research Institute, Graduate
School of Education and Information Studies, University of California, Los Angeles, The American Freshman: National Norms for Fall 1990 through Fall 2006,
www.gseis.ucla.edu/heri/heri.htm.
Women have earned the majority of bachelor’s
degrees since 1982.
Bachelor's Degrees Conferred, by Gender,1971–72 to 2006–07
Males
Females
1,000,000
Number of Degrees
900,000
800,000
700,000
600,000
500,000
400,000
300,000
200,000
100,000
0
Year
Source: Snyder, T.D., Dillow, S.A., and Hoffman, C.M. (2009). Digest of Education Statistics 2008 (NCES 2009-020). National Center for Education Statistics, Institute of Education
Sciences, U.S. Department of Education. Washington, DC.
Women’s representation among STEM bachelor’s degree holders
has improved over time but varies by field.
Bachelor’s Degrees Earned by Women in Selected Fields, 1966–2006
Source: National Science Foundation, Division of Science Resources Statistics, 2008, Science and engineering degrees: 1966–2006 (Detailed Statistical Tables) (NSF 08-321) (Arlington,
VA), Table 11, Author's analysis of Tables 34, 35, 38, & 39.
Women’s representation in the
STEM workforce is also uneven.
Women are underrepresented in many science
and engineering occupations.
Percentage of Employed STEM Professionals Who Are Women, Selected Professions, 2008
60
Percentage of Women
50
40
30
20
10
0
Biological
scientists
Chemists and Environmental Computer
Computer
materials
scientists and scientists and programmers
scientists
geoscientists
systems
analysts
Computer
software
engineers
Chemical
engineers
Civil engineers Electrical and
electronics
engineers
Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2009, Women in the labor force: A databook (Report 1018) (Washington, DC), Table 11.
Mechanical
engineers
AAUW drew on the large body of
academic research on gender in
science in a number of fields and
identified eight research findings that
help to explain the underrepresentation
of women and girls in STEM.
Why So Few? presents evidence that social and
environmental factors contribute to the
underrepresentation of
women and girls in STEM.
Eight research findings in three areas:
• How social and environmental factors
shape girls’ achievements and interests
in math and science
• The climate of college and university
science and engineering departments
• Continuing influence of bias
Girls’ achievements and interests
in math and science are shaped by
the environment around them.
Negative stereotypes about girls’ and women’s
abilities in math and science adversely affect their
performance in these fields.
Performance on a Challenging Math Test,
by Stereotype Threat Condition and Gender
 Expose girls to successful
female role models in
math and science.
 Teach students about
stereotype threat.
Source: Spencer, S. J., Steele, C. M., & Quinn, D. M., 1999, "Stereotype threat and women's math performance," Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 35(1), p. 13.
In math and science, a growth mindset benefits girls.
Fixed Mindset
Growth Mindset
Intelligence is static.
Intelligence can be
developed.
Leads to a desire to look
smart and therefore a
tendency to
Leads to a desire to learn
and therefore a tendency
to
 Praise children for effort.
• avoid challenges
• embrace challenges
 Highlight the struggle.
• give up easily due to
obstacles
• persist despite
obstacles
 Gifted and talented
• see effort as fruitless
• see effort as path to
mastery
• ignore useful
feedback
• learn from criticism
• be threatened by
others’ success
• be inspired by others’
success
 Teach children that
intellectual skills can be
acquired.
programs should send the
message that they value
growth and learning.
Spatial skills are not innate and can be
improved with training.
One of the largest and most
persistent gender gaps in cognitive
skills is found in the area of mental
rotation, where boys consistently
outperform girls.
Playing with building toys as well as
drawing can help children develop
spatial skills.
Women are “harder on themselves” in terms of
assessing their abilities in math and science fields.
Does this rectangle have more black or more white?
• Set clear performance standards
• Help girls recognize their career-relevant skills
Bias, often unconscious, limits
women’s progress in scientific
and engineering fields.
Even people who consciously reject negative
stereotypes about women in science can still hold
those beliefs at an unconscious level.
Most people associate science and math fields with
“male” and humanities and arts fields with “female.”
• Take a test to learn about your unconscious bias at
https://implicit.harvard.edu.
• Take steps to address your biases.
Women in nontraditional fields can find
themselves in a “double bind.”
• Women in “male” jobs are viewed as less
competent than their male peers.
• When women are clearly competent, they
are often considered less “likable.”
• Raise awareness about bias against women
in STEM fields.
• Create clear criteria for success.
Why So Few? Women in Science, Technology,
Engineering, and Mathematics
To download the report:
www.aauw.org
To contact the researchers:
aauw-research@aauw.org
Thank You!
Jennifer Jirous
Colorado Community College System
Jennifer.jirous@cccs.edu