Camden Patsel

AP English Language

Education UCP Essay

14 February, 2017

Women in STEM

In this day and age, there are countless problems plaguing Americas education system,

one of which, is the issue of why so few women are entering into STEM (science, technology,

engineering, and mathematics) majors and careers. America lags behind numerous other

countries in the amount of women in STEM jobs. In a country such as Romania, for instance,

44% of their engineers are women, when only 11% of Americas engineers are women. This

gender gap in STEM fields is a pressing issue for America as it hinders Americas

competitiveness on the global spectrum as the world becomes more and more consumed in

STEM based jobs. Some believe that this issue is simply due to the fact that women are just not

interested in STEM, however, studies have shown that rather than womens interest in STEM,

the biases and stereotypes women face in regards to STEM careers, is what causes them to

choose otherwise.

Early on in a girls education, she is introduced to the stereotype that boys are better at

math and science than girls. This is only perpetuated as she grows older and starts to notice how

subtly some teachers may praise a boy student more for giving the right answer in a math class,

than the teacher would if the same answer came from a girl student. In high school, when a girl
student is considering a STEM major in college, she may be discouraged by her teachers and

counselors who may suggest a different career path for her. Boys are also introduced to this

stereotype growing up, and if no one, no teacher tells him that it is just a stereotype, he will grow

older, and if he enters into the STEM field, might treat his female colleagues differently.

The early conditioning of this stereotype leads to the issue of stereotype threat that

women face in the STEM fields. Stereotype threat, in this case, is the psychological phenomenon

that the negative stereotype that men are better at math and science than women, is stopping

women from wanting to enter into the STEM fields, and even causing some of the women that

do enter, to drop out. Psychologists have performed studies that have proven that when women

were reminded, even slightly, of this stereotype, they performed worse when tested, than the

women who were not reminded. Moreover, these studies have also shown that when a female

scientist communicated with a male scientist on a work related subject, she tended to sound less

competent than she did when she communicated with a female scientist. According to

psychologists, the reason behind this is that since the female scientist believed the male scientist

held this stereotype, she felt she needed to constantly monitor what she was saying in order to

sound competent. Therefore, this constant worrying distracted the woman from saying what she

wanted to say confidently, making it sound less competent. This stereotype is further stimulated

when women, who may be considering a STEM career, see how few women are already in the

fields. This may cause them to believe that since there are so few women, women must not be

good at these jobs, or that since it is dominantly males, they will not even want to enter a STEM

field.
 Along with stereotypes, come the biases women face in STEM fields. Women face biases

even before they get a STEM related job. Studies have shown that when presented with two

candidates, differing only in gender, for a STEM job, both males and females chose the man over

the woman, based solely on the bias favoring men over women. If a woman is chosen for a

STEM job, then the biases against her increase. Joan C Williams, from the Harvard Business

Review, describes what she believes are the five main biases that push women away from STEM

related careers. These biases encompass everything from a STEM womans feeling that she has

to constantly prove her success and expertise to obtain validation from other colleagues, to the

tightrope a STEM woman feels she has to walk between appearing too feminine, to be taken

seriously, and appearing too masculine, making her appear bossy, and finally the bias a STEM

woman faces when she starts to have a family, that a womans job is second to her family, or

even that her job is only a hobby to her. These biases against women in STEM make women feel

unwelcome or isolated from their male colleagues and deter women from wanting to enter into

these fields. All the STEM women interviewed by Williams, reported having experienced one or

more of these biases proving their accuracy.

If the issue of how few women are entering into STEM fields is to be resolved, then

America as a whole, needs to eradicate the biases and stereotypes threatening women. Instead of

marketing STEM subjects as boy subjects to children in school, and in society in general,

America must stress how these subjects are open to anyone. In elementary schools, teachers must

help eradicate the stereotype that boys are better at math and science by encouraging all students

to consider a STEM career. Companies and organizations need to put aside their personal biases

and approach the hiring process on a more objective level, to equal the playing field for men and

women. Furthermore, both male and female workers in STEM jobs must not be biased against
their other female colleagues, just because the female colleague appears feminine, or she starts to

have children. If the next generation grows up not conforming to this stereotype, and attitudes

toward women in STEM workplaces improve, then women will be more likely and more willing

to consider a STEM career.