Inequality In STEM

From a young age, society has told us that boys should like math and science, while girls should like the arts. We are told that one race excels in STEM related subjects, while others do not. These lies that society has fed us so early on have grown increasingly apparent as the disparities in STEM come to light. From socioeconomic background and race, to gender and sexual orientation, there are alarming inequalities in STEM today. The American Association of University Women (AAUW), an organization committed to the equality of women’s education, reminds us that women make up only 28% of the STEM workforce. In the article “Keeping Girls in STEM: 3 Barriers, 3 Solutions,” author Carly Berwick cites a study where researchers found that when children were asked to draw either a mathematician or scientist, girls were twice as likely to draw them as a man, while boys almost always did. This finding is clearly not because women are less capable of these subjects, it is due to the cultural norms and stereotypes that undermine the potential women have in STEM. These norms have been so deeply ingrained in society that whether intentionally or unintentionally, we limit ourselves, our goals, and our mindsets to conform to them. The article “5 Numbers That Explain Why STEM Diversity Matters to All of Us” published by WIRED, cited the U.S. Census Bureau reported that “the STEM wage gap between men and women in the U.S. is almost $16,000 per year.” Of the few women in STEM, the Harvard Business Review states that due to a hostile work environment, women are “45 percent more likely than their male peers to leave the industry.” However, despite the steadily growing number of women in STEM in these recent years, racial diversity has not progressed at the same rate. Since 1990, STEM employment has grown from 9.7 million to 17.3 million. But in this time, the Pew Research Center reports that Black people only represent 9% of the STEM workforce. Even less, Hispanic people make up only 7%. When Black people were asked the reason why they and Hispanics are underrepresented in STEM, 72% stated that they faced discrimination in recruiting, hiring and promotions—the answer was not that they were uninterested. The study reveals that Black people and Hispanics point out their underrepresentation is also largely “due to lack of encouragement to pursue jobs in the STEM field” and a “lack of quality schooling.” The Pew Research Center statistics further indicate that one in every five people in STEM say that their race “has made job success harder because of the resulting treatment from coworkers.” However, the inequalities in STEM are far more complex. The large divide in this field begins in grade school, where students of schools in lower-income neighborhoods don’t have the same access to educational opportunities as higher-income students. These students are not particularly unmotivated, not any more than those of higher-income students, but they lack resources especially in STEM subjects since they require more funding in schools and are not taught the same content as other students. The performance gap in STEM begins early on. As this issue is left ignored, the divide becomes more apparent. Diversity, whether it be racial, gender, or socioeconomic status, contributes to the success in STEM fields. As such a large field that touches our everyday lives, different perspectives are necessary for its progress. Innovation in STEM is achieved as people from all different backgrounds come together with their distinct experiences and world views. Dr. Patty Lopez, Senior Platform Applications Engineer at Intel, notes how the absence of women in STEM had been detrimental in the past. Lopez says that “from the field of user design...excluding women from the design of car airbags had a deadly effect, as women were generally shorter and sat closer to the steering wheel” and that after they found that “women show different symptoms for heart attacks than men...women were excluded from medical trials that studied heart disease.” Remedying these issues in STEM begins with acknowledging them. Fostering a more inclusive environment in STEM would lead to more productivity and creativity, which is not only beneficial to our daily lives, it is crucial to the advancement of society.