Underrepresentation In STEM

Along with her husband, Pierre Curie, Marie Curie discovered radium and polonium, and coined the term of radioactivity. She was an amazing pioneer for women in science, being the first female professor at the University of Paris and the first woman to be buried at the Parthenon for her own achievements. In addition, she received 2 Nobel Prizes, one in Chemistry and one in Physics, and is one of only two people to ever win 2 awards in separate sciences, along with being the first woman to win one. Thanks to the enlightenment, industrial revolution and World War I, Marie Curie could do the work that lead to our modern medicine and understanding of radioactive material.

A wise woman once said, “I am one of those who think like Nobel, that humanity will draw more good than evil from new discoveries” (Brainy Quote). She was the first scientist to win two Nobel Prizes, and the first to win the treasured prize in two different fields. She was the first female professor at the University of Paris, the first woman to win a Nobel Prize, and the first in many other major positions and organizations as a woman. This is Marie Curie. Marie Curie was, and still is, a highly celebrated scientist and person today. Curie revolutionized the field of physics and chemistry with her findings, but that was not the only thing she did. Through her accomplishments, Curie empowered women by sparking the women’s rights movement. This incredible woman did all these things in life while being a loyal and dedicated wife and mother. Marie Curie was a powerful figure who benefitted society by discovering elements radium and polonium which is used to help cancer treatments, opening doors for women by giving them power by being an accomplished female scientist, and creating interest in the field of atomic physics/chemistry which led to

The technology field has always been dominated by men. There are not in the STEM field, but a very important women inspires a lot of the ones that are. “She was a visionary, and an inspiration to boundary-breaking women everywhere.”1 Ada Lovelace inspires so many women in technology today especially since she was a woman from the 19th century. Ada Lovelace proved that it is possible to overcome the long history of gender barriers. She is an example or even a hero to other women, that high levels of success are undoubtedly reachable. - talk about “Ada Lovelace Day”

When a lot of people think of famous female scientist, they think of Marie Curie. But, there are other female famous scientists like Rosalind Franklin. Rosalind Franklin was a scientist that her work helps are scientist today. She helped in discovering DNA. Rosalind Franklin was a female chemist.

Although some may deny it, as societies grow, the underrepresentation of females in educational fields, specifically science, technology, engineering, and math, is gradually increasing. There simply aren’t enough women in STEM.. There are many factors that supplement the repetitive ignorance of the intellect of women as well as perpetuate the concept that women are academically inferior to men. As seen throughout a substantial portion of history, society tends to underrate the cognitive and academic abilities of women. This lowers their confidence to achieve in academic fields and limits their ambition to pursue STEM education. Many credible sources reflect that women feel incapable of excelling

Marie Curie became the first woman to receive the Nobel Prize when the Curies shared the Nobel Prize in Physics with Becquerel in 1903 for their work with radioactivity. In the 1900s, women still had a relegated role in science. Marie Curie wasn’t allowed to speak with her husband on stage at the award ceremony and had to sit in the audience. Her mere presence was an affront to men. Some members of the Nobel Prize committee even considered not including her in the prize at all, despite the fact that she was largely responsible for the discovery.

Until high school, I never knew there was a gender gap in the STEM fields. I thought female scientists were the norm and males typically entered the humanities, because that's what it is in my house. My mom holds a Ph.D. in molecular biology and genetics while my father has a master’s degree in education. I was never raised in an environment that dictated what roles each sex could play in society; if I wanted to be a scientist, I would be a scientist.

The STEM fields - science, technology, engineering and mathematics - have always had a problem with women. Men tend to dominate in the engineering field and for women, the number is not growing. Is it because of the fact that there is a lack of role model in the field or the lack of motivation to be in the engineering field? Judging from the statistic, there are about 20% of women in the engineering industry and that number is not growing, because women have seen no employment growth in STEM jobs since 2000. From the studies that were conducted from the articles that i found, here were a very surprising outcome. though some of the outcome were expected.

What builds a society and its perspectives? The way we are expected to act and live our lives has been constant. Traditional career roles and life choices for women have always been a non-technical, housemaker-kind. As a result, women have stayed to be underrepresented in various fields. One of those fields is STEM. Over the past years, women’s participation in STEM fields has been largely lower than that of men. There have been various reasons and implications behind this. The strongest one is that women stay undermined and are assessed incapable when compared to men. Women who have not yet entered science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields underestimate how well they will perform in those fields (e.g., Correll, 2001; Meece, Parsons, Kaczala, & Goff, 1982). They are forced to underestimate themselves and thus they kill the breakthroughs they could be a part of even before they even try to accomplish them.

Gender disparity in the science field has grown to become a widely recognized matter. Though the number of women involved in the science field is gradually expanding, many areas in science, technology, and mathematics still currently remain entirely male-dominated. This is especially evident at the professional level for women who have already earned a bachelor degree in science and wish to further in their career. Gender disparity is not only concerned with the lack of women involvement in science but the retention within science as well. There are various possible explanations as to why women are widely unrepresented in science not only in the United States but globally as well.

It is common knowledge that the STEM field is overrun by men, with over 75% if STEM jobs being held by men in 2009 (Beede et al. 1). This fact in itself is something that repels women from delving into the field. Women start out with a social disadvantage when it comes to pursuing a STEM degree. There is often little to no support, especially from men, when they express interest in it. Even after attaining a degree and being hired, there may not be a sense of unity between the few women that are in the field. “... about three-fourths of the women scientists surveyed reported that women in their work environments supported each other. And yet about a fifth of the scientists surveyed reported “I feel

Men have been known to be the gender that dominates in the field of Science. The science industry is something that is perceived to be manly, and not pursued by women. This is an unfortunate assumption of the science industry. The only reason women are not the face of science is because the field is biased. Biased in 2016? Absolutely.

It is believed that the idea that women should not pursue STEM programs is silently placed into their heads from a very young age (1). Girls in elementary schools usually have male science and math teachers, which causes them to believe that those who participate or enjoy STEM studies are usually more masculine. A study was done and shows that girls who believe that math is strictly for men do not do as well in math as girls who do not see it from the same perspective (2). This makes it more difficult for a young girl to openly express that she enjoys STEM courses especially since as she progresses through school, the majority of the students in her science and math classes will be male (1). Based on observational studies done in math and science classrooms, it has been found that the

To look more closely at the issue, I have structured my paper into four main sections. In the first section I will discuss prominent current issues in the STEM field, and how women play a part. I will then go on to discuss solutions to those problems and how the gender gap can be closed. To conclude I will restate the issue and what can be done in the future to resolve the problem.

The hard sciences (science, technology, engineering, and math) are important to the advancements of a country because they encourage the development of new and creative progress that can keep their country sharp, and a force to be reckoned with, which gives them power. Although STEM fields are crucial for countries to get ahead, there is a societal belief in America, that women are less capable and less qualified then men in these fields. It appears that this societal belief has led to a gender gap in STEM courses and careers between men and women. The lack of women in these fields could be hindering our countries advancements.