Researched and written by: Deeksha Vaidyanathan, Writer and Researcher for EnvisionSTEM
Introduction
In this day and age, you hear people say so much about "the number of women in STEM in our modern day society rapidly increasing," but nobody stops to actually observe by what percent or amount it’s increasing. From my own personal experiences and the discrimination I’ve faced as a woman in the Computer Science field, I can say that there’s an immense amount of support for girls in STEM and the furthering of women in a patriarchal world, but at the same time, I still see a five to twenty-five ratio of girls to boys in my AP Computer Science Principles class. This makes me wonder: Is the concept of women in STEM growing in popularity or is the number of women in STEM actually increasing?
Historical Context
Watson and Crick, the discoverers of the double-helix formation of DNA; Charles Babbage, inventor of computer programming; Kent Ford, discoverer of dark matter. All famous names of scientists who have shamelessly taken credit for the work that Rosalind Franklin, Ada Lovelace, and Vera Rubin have done; brilliant minds who have been hidden in the shadows of their male counterparts (Jena 2021). Some of the greatest and most important inventions of our time are accredited to men, not because they’re intellectually stronger than women are, but because society couldn’t come to terms with the fact that a woman could make such crucial discoveries on her own.
Millions of historical records containing the work of female scientists have been lost, forgotten, or neglected. Because of that, the false reason why men are the dominant force in the most important industries of our future is that they always have been. But take the work of Lise Meitner, for instance, the face behind the discovery of nuclear fission, a concept without which we would have already been extinct due to climate change. Her Jewish ancestry during a time period when the Holocaust was happening led her to flee Germany, and allowed her lab partner, Otto Hahn, to take all the credit for her work. When Hahn submitted the research paper on the theory of nuclear fission that the pair had collaborated on, he chose to erase Meitner’s name, and won a Nobel Peace Prize in Chemistry for "his" discoveries (Jena 2021). Like Meitner, most, if not all the women in the past, who have used their intellect and creativity to foster the discovery of so many theories and inventions, have been disregarded and pushed down because of the male superiority complex that has been riveting the world for the past 900 years. But the real question is: is our modern-day society any different?
The Issue
For centuries, the few women who had the opportunity to work in STEM fields faced enormous discrimination due to their apparent lack of "strength and intellectual capacity," both of which are required for working in the "hard" sciences. Despite the mostly equal pay field for both genders in the biomedical field, the male dominance in the engineering and mathematical sectors is commonly equated for two reasons: incapability and disinterest.
Incapability
As of 2019, women make up 18% of bachelor’s degrees earned by individuals in the computer science field, but what’s worse is that this number has decreased 9% since 1997 (Western Governors University 2019). One of the main factors that can be correlated to this difference is the idea that women simply lack the skills needed to be successful in engineering and mathematics because they’re not "intelligent" or "strong" enough. In reality, both genders are "fairly equal in terms of actual skills" and perform generally the same on IQ tests (in fact, women perform better on some), but because of stereotypes and sexism, "many women don’t pursue these paths, opting instead for a major that provides fewer hassles and issues" (Western Governors University 2019).
Disinterest
Even at an extremely young age, girls are reported to have less "interest in math and science careers than boys do," with a greater interest in working with other people and forming personal connections with them (Cummins 2021). Not only is one of the fundamental reasons for this disparity "social attitudes and beliefs about whether it is appropriate for girls to pursue these subjects," but also the stereotype that STEM is not feminine or suitable enough for women, which leads young girls and teens to leave their interest in STEM for something more "socially respectable" (Cummins 2021). As a result, "only 15 percent of engineers and 25 percent of mathematics professionals are female," and barely "10 percent of Computer Hardware Engineers and 7.9 percent of Mechanical Engineers are women" (National Girls Collaborative Project 2021). I see this same gender disparity in my Computer Science classes, with women’s voices being put down and men’s ideas regarded with higher importance. The role that mentors and teachers play in such environments is also significant and could change the interest levels of students dramatically, encouraging them to pursue their interests regardless of what they identify as. If only there wasn’t merely one female computer science teacher at our school.
The Future
Despite the things that people say about the advancement of women in STEM and the shrinking gender gap that the 21st century’s feminists have contributed to, it would be foolish not to recognize that the world is far from equal. Still, in places like Syria, Congo, and Afghanistan, women are underrepresented and treated with disrespect when they are just as capable as men of working jobs in the STEM industry. Is it really fair of society to consider women less intelligent than men when, in certain places, we don’t even provide them with the right to learn? Malala Yousafzai had to take a gunshot to the head and survive for her protest for girls’ education in Afghanistan to be noticed, and even now, that right is not guaranteed.
We can do so much more than just spread awareness about the small percentage of women in STEM and the hardships that women in such industries face. It’s not a lack of ideas that’s the issue, it’s a lack of action. Women have so much potential to change the world with their ideas, if only they were given a chance. They could revolutionize the way society thought with the resources they’d be provided and make advancements alongside men to better society. It’s not enough to say, "All men and women are created equal." With the way the world is rapidly changing in technology and research, women should be given the opportunity to play a part, and should be treated as equals as well.
Works Cited
Computer Science Degree Hub. “Why Are There More Men than Women in STEM Fields?” Computer Science Degree Hub, https://www.computersciencedegreehub.com/faq/why-are-there-more-men-than-women-in-stem-fields/.
Cummins, Denise. “Column: Why the STEM Gender Gap Is Overblown.” PBS, Public Broadcasting Service, 17 Apr. 2015, https://www.pbs.org/newshour/economy/making-sense/truth-women-stem-careers.
Jena, Smrutisnat. “10 Game-Changing Inventions & Discoveries by Women That Men Shamelessly Took Credit For.” Inventions & Discoveries By Women That Men Took Credit For, ScoopWhoop, 9 Oct. 2021, https://www.scoopwhoop.com/women/inventions-discoveries-by-women-that-men-took-credit-for/.
National Girls Collaborative Project. “Stem Statistics: Workforce.” National Girls Collaborative Project, 27 Dec. 2021, https://ngcproject.org/resources/stem-statistics-workforce.
Western Governors University. “Why Are There so Few Women in Stem.” Western Governors University, Western Governors University, 23 Sept. 2021, https://www.wgu.edu/blog/why-are-there-so-few-women-in-stem1907.html#close.
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