For many years, an echo has persisted, like tales from a loop on replay throughout the West. In the male dominated fields of STEM, students and educators who present as female are severely underrepresented. Many can be heard saying “I am not a math brained person,” “I am not good at spatial reasoning,” “Science is not my favorite subject, and” I just don’t get it.” to name a few, and that is IF they are called upon to take part and engage in conversation in K-12 classrooms and beyond. It’s time to flip the script, begin reengaging and rewriting our own stories of Women and Girls in STEM education, which starts at the foundational level of elementary education.
Gender disparities in STEM education and career opportunities for girls have not gone away in America. In fact, according to the US Census in 2021, women in STEM career fields only make up 27%. For purposes of creating opportunities for women in high paying STEM careers, we must continue the conversation and tear away these inequities which have been created by design. Now is the time for this systematic change to invest in equity driven programs for girls in STEM education.
Our journey as a society, especially in elementary education, begins with first acknowledging that for as long as most of us can remember, implicit biases have existed in our western culture. This has prevented female students from fully accessing and developing identities in mathematics, critical thinking, scientific curiosity, and soft skills necessary for STEM to be a point of thriving and future high paying career opportunities. Thanks to recent events in our collective feminine call for change, more representation from women role models such as Mary Winston Jackson, Maryam Mirzakhani, Mae Jemison, Jo Boaler, Gye Won Han, Jane McGonigal, Burçin Mutlu-Pakdil and countless other diverse women in STEM fields, the awareness is starting to become more prominent, but it is still not enough. Girls must see themselves in these female leaders and pioneers in practice. Representation matters. This is a straightforward way to begin including female students in our classrooms and creating pathways into STEM careers for future generations.
It is disheartening to many educators when we bear witness or hear of the disparity across the U.S. that many girls, especially in predominantly underserved BIPOC communities, may not be receiving a quality education in STEM when in fact girls are much more capable and excel in STEM greater than our biases lead us to believe. It is only by providing all students, access to K-12 Engineering, Computer Science, Next Generation Science Standards, in tandem with educators creating safe, engaging, spaces necessary to take risks, cultivate explorative environments, and to foster creativity and innovation, that we serve all students in their future endeavors. It is up to elementary educators to begin this process and continue the work in educating ourselves as teachers, leaders, and parents. This is how we begin to close the gaps in inequity for our girls.
“Engage Us in STEM!”
Sincerely, The Girls
If you are interested in learning more about Girls in STEM and how you can support them, please check out these resources:
Women Making Gains in STEM Occupations but Still Underrepresented (census.gov)
8 Reasons Why STEM Education Is Important (2021) (embassy.education)
Girls in STEM: STEM Programs for Girls | Microsoft CSR
Achievethecore.org :: Priorities for Equitable Instruction: 2021 & Beyond
Written by Amanda Macias
Connect with Amanda on Twitter: @ItsAmandaMacias
