Let’s look to the future
Written by: Karen A. Marrongelle, NSF's Chief Operating Officer
Women's History Month is a time to celebrate female role models of the past — women who pioneered in their fields, who broke new ground and glass ceilings, who led the way so that next generations could follow. But it's more than that. This month, we recognize that inspirational women aren't merely icons of the past. They're among us every day, in every community, in every corner of the country. At NSF, we not only celebrate and encourage the contributions of women in STEM, but support programs to help recruit, train and mentor the female scientists, engineers, technicians, educators and entrepreneurs who will be the role models of tomorrow.
One of my own role models is Ada Lovelace, an English mathematician and writer born more than 200 years ago. She was the daughter of the poet Lord Byron but was tutored in math and science by her mother. Lovelace published the first algorithm intended to be carried out by a so-called "analytical machine," and for that is often considered the world's first computer programmer. Because of her, every year on the second Tuesday of October we recognize Ada Lovelace Day to celebrate women in science and raise awareness of their many contributions to STEM fields.
I learned about Lovelace as a middle-schooler and was enthralled by her vision of computing and the fact that she was, for her time and beyond, a well-known mathematician. She was an inspiration for my own career path as a mathematician and educator.
Women of all backgrounds, experiences and education play an integral part in our STEM communities, the global science and engineering enterprise and the U.S. workforce. Some are pioneers in discovery and innovation, others are trailblazers in research and education and still others are leaders in industry, academia and government.
And for more than 70 years, the STEM achievements of women have been woven into the very DNA of NSF. They've been instrumental in advancing our mission to push the frontiers of discovery and innovation across the country.
Where we are
We need the contributions of women in STEM more than ever. As we look toward the future, the nation will continue to turn to the science and engineering communities for answers to some of society's most pressing challenges. It also looks to NSF to supercharge our country's innovative capacity, push the boundaries of discovery like never before and succeed in an intensely competitive global environment.
This is why it's crucial to capitalize on the diverse perspectives and experiences of the incredible women embedded in communities throughout the country. The very nature of scientific progress depends on our ability to expand our mindset as to what is possible. At NSF, we believe that a more diverse and inclusive science and engineering community, full of new and differing perspectives from STEM-enabled citizens, can drive the science and engineering enterprise to groundbreaking innovations and spur economic growth and prosperity for all.
Women bring unique knowledge and insights from a wide range of racial and ethnic backgrounds and sexual orientations, and from having grown up, lived and worked in a diverse variety of communities across the country. We need their creativity and tenacity, we need their leadership and expertise, and we need their voices.
To realize the goal of creating a research community and STEM workforce that reflects the full talent that exists throughout our nation's population, we need to — at minimum — double the number of women participating in STEM fields.
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We have made much progress in recent years toward that goal. In January, NSF released its biennial Diversity and STEM: Women, Minorities and Persons with Disabilities 2023 report, the federal government's latest and most complete analysis of diversity trends in STEM employment and education. This report provides objective, reliable data on where the country has made progress toward access and equity and where it must do more.
How are women faring? Simply put, the report shows there's more work to be done. It shows that over the past decade a growing number of women worked in STEM jobs, diversifying the workforce. And women are earning more degrees in science and engineering fields at all levels. But women still comprise only 35% of the STEM workforce, meaning they're still greatly underrepresented compared to their distribution (51%) in the overall population. And their pay is consistently lower than men's.
Making a difference
NSF supports research and programs that focus on understanding and developing strategies to address gender differences and support women and girls in STEM. The goal is to improve the quality and effectiveness of formal and informal STEM education from early childhood onward at all levels for all genders in all settings.
We're working to improve participation by examining the differences in engagement, retention, advancement, success and inclusion in STEM education pathways, experiences and workplaces for women, and the social and systemic issues that create barriers to participation, including the culture and climate of STEM educational programs and workplaces.
NSF's premiere ADVANCE program strives to create equitable, inclusive and welcoming workplaces for STEM faculty of all genders and broaden the participation and advancement of women in academic science and engineering careers.
Our career-life balance initiative encourages family-friendly attitudes, practices and policies to clear the obstacles that women can face as they progress through their STEM education to the workforce and on to the top ranks of the scientific enterprise.
A more inclusive faculty and workforce strengthens the nation's STEM enterprise as women:
Boosting the representation of women in STEM is vital to the ongoing work of broadening participation overall. There have always been accomplished women in every part of the country's STEM enterprise — Women's History Month reminds us of this fact. But female pioneers and achievers haven't always been visible to the young women and girls who want to follow in their footsteps.
One of the most important things we can do to be more visible is to embrace the fullness of our identities, because there are young people across all the different parts of who we are as individuals — and who we want to be as a country — who are looking to us for inspiration.