How Representation Impacts Women in STEM Fields

Happy International Women’s Day 💜 A gender gap persists in STEM globally. We’ve made progress, but women are still woefully under-represented. Tackling our greatest challenges - improving health to combating climate change to developing AI as a force for good - must harness all talent. Gender diversity expands and extends the talent pool and is essential as today’s technologies demand different ‘Power’ skills: ▪️Emotional Intelligence: to manage emotions and navigate interpersonal relationships effectively, enhancing teamwork and leadership in STEM ▪️ Collaboration: fostering effective teamwork, with a focus on joint problem-solving ▪️ Adaptability: STEM is moving fast, I see that every day, being able to quickly learn and adjust to is indispensable ▪️ Empathy: drives solutions that truly resonate with human needs ▪️ Creativity: Brings unique perspectives that fuel innovation ▪️ Ethics: development is responsible and beneficial for society However ▫️Women are given smaller research grants and, while 33.3% of all researchers, only 12% of STEM academics are women ▫️In cutting edge fields such as AI, only 1 in five (22%) is a woman ▫️Despite a shortage of skills driving the Fourth Industrial Revolution, women still account for only 28% of engineering and 40% of computer science graduates ▫️Female researchers have shorter, less well-paid careers. Their work is underrepresented in high-profile journals and they are more often passed over for promotion ▫️Although STEM fields are widely regarded as critical to economies, so far most countries have not achieved gender equality in STEM So what? Not only is this unethical, unfair it’s also misinformed, I mean stupid: ▪️The crash test dummy is a classic case. Initially, modelled on the average male body. Women were 47% more likely to be seriously injured and 17% to die in car crashes. Despite efforts, the gap in safety due to a lack of diverse testing persists ▪️Cardiovascular research has long been skewed towards men. Women are 50% more likely to be misdiagnosed with heart attacks and treatment is less effective ▪️Trials for medications did not sufficiently account for gender in pharmacokinetics so dosages were based on male biology, women experience adverse drug reactions nearly 1.7 times more often ▪️Medical devices have focused on male anatomy, for example, women are 20% more likely to have a stroke or die within 30 days of being treated with stents for artery disease ▪️Voice recognition technologies were developed using data from men leading to error rates for women’s voices up to 70% higher ▪️Famously Amazon discovered that its AI-based screening was biased against women favoring male candidates by a significant margin ▪️Facial recognition has error rates of up to 34.7% for dark-skinned women, vs 0.8% for light-skinned men So, should you need it, today is a reminder that women play a critical role in STEMs and that our participation must be strengthened #iwd2024 #BeEqual #GenderEquality #DEI

Students seeing someone who looks like them - whether it is a tutor, a teacher, a mentor, or a coach - it matters. I know this because when I went to Michigan and wanted to take my first computer science class, I walked into a room on North Campus, and I was the only woman. It was 2000, and in a lecture hall of 100, I remember every person staring at me as I walked in, watched me take a seat, and then covertly looked at me for the next 48 minutes. I did this for two weeks. Then the professor pulled me aside and told me I should drop the class - I was a distraction, and did I really want to be in computer science? I wish I could tell you I stuck with the class. I wish I could tell you I said a not-nice word and got the highest score in the class. I didn't. I listened to him and I dropped the class. I changed my major and never took another computer science class at Michigan. (Honestly, it's still really bad - with women only being awarded 20% of comp sci degrees is a low water mark compared to the 1980s - another post here about why we are losing ground - another day) If you know me, you know that doesn't sound like something I would do. But I was 18; it mattered that I fit in. I was 2,000 miles from home, and he seemed caring and empathetic. I share this with you because there is currently much discussion about whether diversity matters in the STEM fields. If as a country, we should be investing in ensuring our scientists reflect the beautiful fabric of this country - rural, disabled, immigrant, gender, and racially diverse. The answer is yes. And if we don't in the age of AI and quantum, we will lose. It's the space race of our generation—and I want to remind us of all the hidden figures who got us there. And it's not just me - it's research. Check out the latest paper from some brilliant folks, who argue that we need to pay attention to this from a young age (long before college) and not just with teachers, but also with our entire education workforce. Thanks, Annenberg Institute at Brown University, for this great paper from Josh Bleiberg, Carly D. Robinson, Evan Bennett, and Susanna Loeb. The TL;DR - New experimental evidence suggests that having a female tutor makes ninth-grade girls more interested in STEM and more likely to pass Algebra I than having a male tutor, especially when the tutoring is in-person. (BUT ACTUALLY READ PLEASE) https://lnkd.in/ervsA9GC

Representations matter. Acknowledgements matter. For some people, their amazing work doesn't get due credit. Especially women. There are so many historical oversights in many walks of life — writers, poets, musicians, scientists, etc. By rectifying and acknowledging these amazing women, we create a better future. Women were always told what they could do, and what they should do. There’s a finding that Mozart’s older sister’s own compositions may have been subsumed into his original works. Maria Anna, known as Nannerl, never got acknowledged for her talent and she most likely accepted this without a murmur. There were no role models of women composers who could be independent in their work. Mozart’s work might not be original. Zelda Fitzgerald was a prolific writer. Her husband, F. Scott Fitzgerald lifted entire passages of her diary and put them into his novel. He probably never considered this as plagiarism. Not just in music and art, but in STEM, most women haven't got their due. There's a significant gender disparity in STEM even today, and we should not ignore it. Up at the top, where you find Nobel Prize winners and leaders, women are pretty scarce. This issue starts early from the get-go when fewer girls than boys pick STEM subjects in school. However, not all is bleak. I was uplifted by the work of a young British physicist, Dr Jess Wade. Since 2017, she has made it her mission to give credit where it is due. She has written over 1,750+ Wikipedia profiles for female and minority scientists who have not previously been given adequate recognition. Wade's efforts have contributed significantly to increasing the proportion of biographies on English Wikipedia that focus on women, representing tens of thousands of new entries. She won multiple recognitions and was cited by Jimmy Wales, the founder of Wikipedia. We need more people like Jade! Your project for this women's day, can you name ten women whose work made a difference? Video source: CBS News #WomenInScience #WomensDay #STEM #inspiration #Internationalwomensday

Think of the most innovative tech companies you know. Now, picture the leadership teams behind them. Do you see a diverse and inclusive representation of women? The reality is, that women remain vastly underrepresented in the tech industry. Despite comprising half the global workforce, only 28% of tech professionals are women, according to a recent World Economic Forum report. This imbalance isn't just a missed opportunity for talented individuals, it has significant implications for the entire tech landscape. Here's why a more gender-balanced tech industry is a win-win for all: -Enhanced Innovation: Studies show that diverse teams are more innovative and generate a wider range of ideas. When women are missing from the table, the potential for groundbreaking solutions shrinks. -Closing the Talent Gap: The tech sector faces a global skills gap, and attracting more women can help fill the void with a vast pool of untapped talent. -Creating Products for Everyone: Women are powerful consumers whose unique perspectives are crucial in shaping the technology that impacts everyone. Underrepresentation in tech development can lead to products that miss the mark for a significant portion of the market. So, how do we bridge the gap? ✔ ️Encouraging girls to pursue STEM fields from a young age is crucial in building the pipeline for future generation. ✔️ Providing women in tech with access to mentors and role models can inspire them to pursue leadership positions and shatter glass ceilings. ✔ ️Creating inclusive workplaces within tech companies to ensure fair opportunities and empower women to thrive. Investing in women in tech isn't just the right thing to do, it's a catalyst to discover the power of human ingenuity. Imagine the groundbreaking innovations that could emerge when brilliance and diverse perspectives of women and men collaborate at the forefront of technology. Let's not just bridge the gap, let's shatter it and build a future where the only limit is our collective imagination. What do you say?

A few years ago, I brought an EEOC complaint against my former employer and sued them for sex discrimination and retaliation. I was at a point in my career where many women end up leaving the tech industry, but I decided to stay and try to make it better (that's a story for another day). That was a tough time, but I don't have a single regret about standing up for my rights and the rights of every other woman in tech. I would do it again in a heartbeat, but I shouldn't have to. No one should have to experience that. This research really highlights what many of us women in tech already know: that our industry not only pushes women away, but it also pushes women out. Sometimes people say, "the rate of employment for women is so low because women aren't pursuing tech careers." But why would a woman want to pursue a career where she's facing such a high likelihood of discrimination? If we want to increase the number of women in tech, we absolutely have to put an end to the discrimination that is already happening in our industry. EEOC Chair Charlotte A. Burrows says it best: “Sixty years after passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, there is a high degree of underrepresentation and a disturbing lack of career advancement for female, Black, and Hispanic workers in the high tech workforce, despite the recent period of growth in high tech occupations. America’s high tech sector, which leads the world in crafting technologies of the future, should not have a workforce that looks like the past.” https://lnkd.in/eeayx89q #WomenInTech #WomenInSTEM