Women and Girls in the Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)

If you wonder why we need to support women and girls to increase their representation in science and technology, please refer to a list below that I have taken from the UN Women portal. 

My daughter celebrated her 3rd birthday yesterday evening. Before going to bed the night before, she came over to me, asking about the gift that I was going to offer on her birthday. On her previous birthday, she wanted me to buy her a kid’s doctor’s bag, which I had granted. The pseudo-doctors' bag contained 12 different medical instruments: a stethoscope, scalpel, mirror, glasses, forceps, syringe, medicine bottle, name tag and carrying case (the whole nine yards), all of them true replicas of actual devices. Not long after receiving the bag, she began experimenting with all these mini devices as if she was a medical doctor-in-the-making. One year later, she still finds ways to connect with these little instruments – whenever she sees me very fatigued after work or during sickness, she pulls the stethoscope out of the lovely bag and starts checking my heartbeat as if she knows what’s happening within my body.

On the other end, my niece, who goes to middle school near a remote village in Nepal, tells me over the phone that she has dreams of becoming a doctor, but neither has access to gifts like the mini medical bag, nor a mentor who can guide her.

These two contrasting situations whirred in my mind while I was browsing the internet and simultaneously answering the seemingly never-ending questions of my three-year-old daughter. In the meantime, I happened to browse the UN Women’s portal that had published a story on Feb 11, 2018, as the day marks International Day of Women and Girls in Science. The story highlighted a few facts and statistics of women and girls’ underrepresentation in science that immediately drew my attention, further nudging my mind towards the afore-mentioned two contrasting situations between my daughter living in the United States versus my niece on the mountainside. The UN Women’s story presented UNESCO data (2014 - 2016) which showed that only around 30 percent of all female students selected STEM-related fields in higher education. Globally, female students’ enrolment is particularly low in ICT (3 percent), natural science, mathematics and statistics (5 percent) and in engineering, manufacturing, and construction (8 percent). Even within the United States, where all of the facilities and opportunities are available at disposal, where the gender inequality index is far lower than in the developing world, the representation of women and girls in the STEM field, is, ironically, also low. 

Amidst these facts, my growing daughter shows interest in becoming a doctor in a society that, unbeknownst to her, paradoxically has a lower representation of women in the STEM field. With UNESCO’s data in mind, this all-the-more motivated me to brainstorm how I could provide her with opportunities to pursue STEM as her professional field and contribute to increasing the representation of women and girls in the field. I realized from all the reports and stories that gender discrimination begins at home. If we can provide a conducive environment that unleashes the potential interest of girls in the STEM field, perhaps more girls and women would be encouraged to pursue careers in the field. The underrepresentation is not permanent.

In this context, can we create a discussion on other possible ways to potentially boost the spirit of hundreds of thousands of women and girls to pursue the science field as their professional career?

Have you read an informative story published by UN Women on the occasion of International Day of Women and Girls in Science? It presents the current disappointing statistics of women’s representation in the Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) field.

The excerpts of the story as well as a link are provided below. If this piques your interest, feel free to read further, add comments and your ideas, or engage in discussion through the link provided. To access the full story, click here; the summary is as follows:

The United Nations, partners worldwide, women and girls will mark 11 February as the International Day of Women and Girls in Science. It’s an opportunity to take a stand for women and girls in science and to break the stereotypes that hold them back.

Bridging the gender gap in science is vital for achieving sustainable development and fulfilling the promise of the 2030 Agenda to “leave no one behind.” Although science-related fields are critical to national economies, most countries have not achieved gender equality in Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).

According to UNESCO data (2014 - 2016), only around 30 percent of all female students select STEM-related fields in higher education. Globally, female students’ enrolment is particularly low in ICT (3 percent), natural science, mathematics and statistics (5 percent) and in engineering, manufacturing, and construction (8 percent).

Fulfilling the vision of the Sustainable Development Goals requires innovative solutions powered by science and technology for a range of issues, from climate change, health, and infrastructure to economic development.

If you wonder why we need to support women and girls to increase their representation in science and technology, I have taken a list below from the UN Women portal. This is not an exhausted list. If you would like, please feel free to add more bullets to the existing record, write your comments, or create your discussion on this topic.

• Because we need to unlock the potential of half the population
• Because women currently make up less than 30 percent of researchers worldwide
• Because access to tech benefits women’s political participation
• Because access to tech benefits women’s health
• Because 90 percent of future formal sector jobs will require ICT skills