Piggybacking off April's post below and as we move forward in our discussion of gender, race and ethnicity, and culture, the female presence in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields has been a notable issue in the past couple of decades. Despite making up at least half the workforce, women only make up around a quarter of workers in the STEM fields.
This seems most apparent in this new article detailing how no female students took the Advanced Placement test in computer science in Mississippi, Montana, or Wyoming last year. This data was compiled by Barbara Ericson, a research scientist at Georgia Tech, and I just wanted to list some really surprising points I read through below:
This seems most apparent in this new article detailing how no female students took the Advanced Placement test in computer science in Mississippi, Montana, or Wyoming last year. This data was compiled by Barbara Ericson, a research scientist at Georgia Tech, and I just wanted to list some really surprising points I read through below:
- For states that had some females take the exam, the percentage female ranged from 3.88% in Utah to 29% in Tennessee.
- 11 states had no Black students take the exam: Alaska, Idaho, Kansas, Maine, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming.
- 8 states had no Hispanic students take the exam: Alaska, Idaho, Kansas, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, and Wyoming.
Looking at some of those points, it's obvious that the issue extends past simply gender, and definitely warrants some attention in our classrooms.
Check out the White House's initiatives on furthering women in STEM fields and keep these issues in mind as you continue your education here at UGA.
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