by Marie Curie, Rosalind Franklin. Janaki Ammal, Vera Rubin, Flossie Wong-Staal. All of these women helped transform the future of science in a field dominated by men. Only twenty nine percent of women make up the science and engineering fields despite accounting for half of the overall educated workforce (Forbes). So why do women not go into science as much as other fields? To answer this question, we will have to go back to the development of girls in an academic setting. The lack of women in science and math stems from an absence of seeing representation of female role models in the field from a young age.
In classroom settings, girls have a tendency to rely on other male figures or peers to lead the discussion in smaller groups. Girls accompany a statement with “It might be wrong” or “I’m not sure” instead of stating something with certainty.
In a survey done by Science Focus Magazine, girls and boys, in the age range of eleven to fourteen years old, were asked to pick their favorite subjects. The top three for girls were Art, English, and Drama. The top three for the boys were communication and technology, PE, and math. The students were then asked “why these subjects were their favorites, 38 percent of girls (compared to 28 percent of boys) responded with ‘I like the teacher’” (Science Focus). Girls enjoy having teachers in which they can connect with on a more personal level. With the majority of science and math teachers being male, it makes it harder for girls to create that connection that they crave in order to succeed.
Additionally, in science and math classrooms, the teachers usually are men which makes it more difficult for a female student to connect with their teacher on a more personal level. The stigmatization of black girls in the classroom as being too loud holds them back from asking questions and breaking into a white male dominated field. The minute number of female black science and surplus of white teachers result in the female black students being penalized more and having stricter punishment since they can not understand the experience. All of these experiences when growing up make science seem less appealing to girls and girls of color in more extreme ways.
So how can we foster environments to encourage girls to pursue STEM? One way includes introducing girls to incredible female scientists’ as role models and mentors. Jennifer Doudna, a biochemist, continues to pave the way for life changing research with her discovery, along with other scientists, of CRISPR. CRISPR has the ability to edit genomes which provides a new way to potentially treat genetic diseases. Girls of color need representation in math and science classrooms. Personally, all of my science at math teachers in elementary, middle, and high school were white which has made it harder for me to connect with them. Introducing strong women of color role models to young girls will help cultivate a stronger connection which, hopefully, will result in more diversity and intersectionality in the science and maths fields.
Sources:
https://www.sciencefocus.com/science/why-are-girls-put-off-science/
Photos:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5d/Professor_Jennifer_Doudna_ForMemRS.jpg
