How to Stem the Epidemic Tide of Girls Losing Interest in STEM

My daughters have a huge disadvantage when it comes to trying to “withdraw” from a technology class. It’s basically not allowed. The reason is that I am hugely passionate about technology, especially when it comes to encouraging more girls to pursue these careers.

Do you know makes me sad? There are two girls out of 12 in the entire junior high school who are going to a math competition called “Sum Day,” and there are only four girls out of 21 students taking a new class in robotics.

Why is this? Because both teachers have daughters and are just as passionate about encouraging girls as I am.

Unfortunately, we are witnessing an epidemic of girls who are losing interest in STEM, which is an acronym for:

·        Science

·        Technology

·        Engineering

·        Math

I found some specific data regarding this subject on the “National Girls Collaborative Project” website (https://ngcproject.org/statistics), including the following information:

Male students were more likely than female students to take Engineering (21% versus 8%) and enroll in AP Computer Science (77% vs 23%). However, there were no significant differences in the percentage of male and female students taking other computer science classes.

When speaking to one of the science teachers at our school, she commented that peer pressure plays a huge role. If you are a high-achieving student, you often get called a “try hard” and that label carries negative connotations. Even in this day and age, it’s still not “cool” to be smart and love technology.

So what can we do to help solve this problem and reinvigorate girls’ interest in STEM studies? I found some great ideas on the Microsoft website (https://news.microsoft.com/features/why-do-girls-lose-interest-in-stem-new-research-has-some-answers-and-what-we-can-do-about-it), which include the following:

·        Providing teachers with more engaging and relatable STEM curriculum, such as 3-D and hands-on projects, the kinds of activities that have proven to help retain girls’ interest in STEM over the long haul. (“My teacher’s making me build a rocket ship with some other students, so that got me interested in STEM a little bit because I like to build and create,” says one middle-school girl interviewed for the study).

·        Increasing the number of STEM mentors and role models—including parents—to help build young girls’ confidence so they can succeed in STEM. Girls who are encouraged by their parents are twice as likely to stay in STEM. In some areas like computer science, dads can have a greater influence on their daughters than moms, yet are less likely than mothers to talk to their daughters about STEM, the study found. (“I grew up with my mom always encouraging me to learn more, an engineer dad and a chemist grandpa, both of whom were always excited to answer my questions, support, and teach me,” says a 27-year-old woman interviewed for the study.)

·        Creating inclusive classrooms and workplaces that value female opinions. It’s important to celebrate the stories of women who are in STEM right now, today. (“It’d be really cool to see women in STEM careers on posters in the hall, in our history and science texts, and visit our classes,” says a 14-year old girl who is in eighth grade. “I don’t know what to focus on. But my tests say I’m a good engineer and I wish I knew what that looked like in real life.”)

I’d like to add to this list with the following observations and recommendations:

·        Offer “STEM Night” at school for kids to showcase their math, robotics, and technology projects to parents and community members. Knowledge is power. If more people were aware of what is going on in the classroom, it could encourage more engagement.

·        Empower classroom assistants (para’s and student teacher assistants) to research grant opportunities to increase funding for these programs.

·        Encourage our school boards to make technology a required part of the curriculum, whether it be robotics or a programming class. Even if it’s just an “exploratory” technology class, it could provide the necessary spark.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that technology professionals will experience the highest growth in job numbers between now and 2030. However, only a fraction of girls and women are likely to pursue degrees that enable them to fill these news jobs.

The bottom line is this: we have made huge strides in this area, but there is still a lot of work to be done.