The persisting challenges faced by women in STEM

What is the STEM?
The acronym STEM refers to science, technology, engineering and mathematics, four key strands of research and industry that are critical to technological development. Science and technology are key to enhancing a state’s productivity and competitiveness and are also critical components towards achieving sustainable development. Breakthroughs in STEM have far-reaching applications in the fight against poverty, including increasing food production and developing biopharmaceutical medicines to help fight disease. Technology also plays a significant role in providing non-traditional education, where it has transformed the teaching landscape. Non-traditional, contemporary methods of education, such as online and distance-learning, podcasts and mobile device applications, are especially instrumental in providing learning resources to isolated communities and to those who cannot be physically present in educational institutions. In addition to the numerous social and health advantages, the STEM sectors also provide substantial economic benefit in terms of global employment worldwide; 22 million jobs in the European Union alone are within STEM (Goos, Hathaway, Konings, Vandeweyer, 2013).

Are women present in STEM?
Despite the increasing number of women completing tertiary and masters level education, including in countries where female students outnumber their male counterparts, the statistics still illustrate a glaring gender gap within certain professions, especially in the innovation and technology sectors (UNESCO, 2012). According to UNESCO, only 30% of all science researchers in the world are female. The participation of women in research varies greatly by country and region. Latin America and the Caribbean has the highest average number of female researchers in science, accounting for 45.2% of all researchers; in fact six countries within the region see women outnumber men in terms of participation (UNESCO Global Education Digest [GED],2010). The region where the gender gap is most prevalent in researchers is Asia, while the country with the lowest participation of women in research is Saudi Arabia, where they account for only 1.4% (UNESCO Institute for Statistics, October 2012).

Science is not the only area where women are distinctly underrepresented professionally; other STEM disciplines have similarly glaring shortfalls of female participation. Gender diversity numbers released by giants of the technology world show the distinct lack of female employees generally and especially within technological (tech) roles. Google, Apple and Twitter each report that women account for 30% of total staff, while Facebook and LinkedIn show a marginal increase at 31% and 39% respectively. The figures are even more concerning in terms of tech-specific positions: men fill 80% of all technology positions at Apple, while women account for just 20%. At LinkedIn the disparity is even larger for technology roles; only 17% of women are employed in such positions. The status quo of the global female workforce in engineering is even more alarming still; only 12% is made up by women. (Source: TechRepublic, August 2014).

Obstacles to Access and Participation in STEM
Numerous socio-cultural and practical barriers exist that make it difficult or unappealing for women to access and pursue careers within STEM:

Gender stereotyping
Certain traditions and cultural norms stream girls and boys into different academic fields of learning during primary and secondary school, which carries over into tertiary education and eventual professions. Academic subjects within STEM have historically had an overrepresentation of male students, while social sci¬ences, including home economics, have been predominantly studied by girls and women. The pool of graduates within STEM who continue to professional careers within the industries is therefore distinctly lacking in female candidates.

There needs to be concerted effort to break stereotypes and put forward public role models, mentors and guides. For example, secondary schools should have guidance counsellors, ideally female scientists who love their fields and are passionate about passing on knowledge and motivations. Women who have succeeded in the science and technology fields can therefore help others to succeed.

Inhospitable working climate
One study examining why women leave careers within science, technology and engineering (though not including mathematics) highlighted issues such as a sense of isolation, biased professional evaluations and a lack of sponsors, role models and mentors as factors contributing to their decision (Fast Company, October 2014). These were core reasons behind why 45% more women than men within the industries were more inclined to leave the professions within the first year (Anita Borg Institute, 2014). A multitude of other factors including low salaries, long working hours and a conflict in work-life integration were also amongst the causes of the high attrition rate of women in technology. This behavioural pattern of women falling out of STEM careers is known as the “leaky pipeline” phenomenon. (Goos, Hathaway, Konings, Vandeweyer, 2013).

Employers should create better, more balanced environment working environments that will keep women working and advancing in their chosen professions, and not retreating to less demanding professional careers, part-time work or even non-professional employment. Education sectors and industries must make a concerted effort in the recruitment, retention and promotion of women to the highest levels within STEM, strengthening the transition between education and the labour market.

The recruitment and retention of girls and women in science careers are long-term economic and development strategies that go beyond shorter-term political and economic cycles. We must do more to inspire and encourage girls and women to lead, especially within innovation sectors including STEM. Quality education, equal access and participation in STEM are crucial for long-term, sustainable development and directly contributes to empowering women to be at the forefront of cutting-edge technology.

IFUW