A new survey shows that the number of girls interested in pursuing STEM careers is alarmingly small–and it continues to decline.
The survey from Junior Achievement, conducted by the research group Engine, shows that only 9 percent of girls ages 13-17 express an interest in STEM careers, down from 11 percent in a similar 2018 survey.
Related: Girls and STEM: A female engineer shares her path
Teen boys’ interest in STEM careers increased slightly to 27 percent, up from 24 percent in 2018. The survey of 1,004 teens was conducted from April 16 to 21, 2019. Eighty-five percent of teens say they know what kind of job they want after graduation, down slightly from 88 percent in 2018
While girls’ interest in STEM careers like engineering, robotics, and computer science declined, their interest in careers in the medical and dental fields increased to 25 percent, up from 19 percent in 2018.
What can motivate girls to pursue STEM careers?
The call for equal representation is becoming louder, and society is striving to solve glaring gender gaps in STEM graduates and STEM fields across the country. The numbers tell an alarming story about female representation in STEM education and fields.
Girls tend to lose interest in STEM and STEM careers as they hit middle school–the material becomes more challenging, and when girls don’t see relevance or representation in STEM topics, they become discouraged.
According to Girls Who Code, fewer than 20 percent of computer science graduates are women. Today, only 24 percent of computer scientists are women, and by 2027, just 22 percent of women will be represented in the field.
Related: 4 keys to building an equitable STEM program
Junior Achievement and other groups are addressing this by bringing STEM professionals into classrooms to deliver the organization’s career-readiness programs.
“The decline of interest in STEM careers is disappointing given how much emphasis is being placed on promoting STEM to girls,” says Kate Keverline, a communication associate at Junior Achievement of Greater Washington. “One element that may need to be emphasized more is ensuring that STEM professionals are serving as role models and working with girls in educational settings as part of these initiatives.”
In 2018, approximately 136,000 students took AP computer science–a 31 percent increase from 2017. This group included a record number of female and minority students, but girls still only accounted for 28 percent of students taking AP computer science exams, while underrepresented minorities accounted for 21 percent. Meanwhile, the increase in STEM jobs shows no sign of slowing down, and only 33 percent of workers ages 25 and older have a degree in a STEM field.
This means girls need to be exposed to STEM careers and STEM possibilities from a young age, and they need to see their own futures and potential in professional STEM women.
A massive survey from Microsoft reveals that female students’ desire to seek out STEM learning opportunities is largely dependent on two motivating factors: creativity and making a difference in the world. Girls in the survey said they don’t see STEM-related career pathways as contributing to either of those drivers.
It’s also essential to make sure STEM projects and courses are designed in a way that is more inclusive to girls and students of color, such as thinking about language barriers and implicit biases in the classroom. Educators should look at computer science and STEM fields with unequal student participation, looking holistically about what underrepresented students need, and then strive to design learning structures not just around the curriculum, but around the students and their needs.
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