As you may have noticed from our blog posts, many of us at Fuentek are very interested in promoting science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) in education, especially for girls and young women. Many of our female technology consultants grew up in, went to school in, and have worked in male-dominated environments. Many of my college calculus and chemistry classes were filled with male students. When attending technology-focused industry meetings as a professional as recently as a few years ago, I was thrilled to meet the occasional other woman at the meeting.Things do seem to be getting better in terms of representation of women in STEM fields; however, we have a long way to go. A fundamental part of what is needed is to inspire and keep the attention of girls interested in the STEM fields in middle school so that they will continue to stay in advanced math and science classes in high school and into college.
My colleague Dr. Julia Overton-Healy (director at the Alfred University Women’s Leadership Center) recently sent me a link to an article describing an interesting approach to promoting STEM in middle school girls. The Fairport school system in Western, NY has established a single-gender technology program. They embarked on this approach after noting that boys made up 92 percent of high school technology classes.
So far, this approach—teaching girls-only technology classes—seems to be successful. Educators’ assumptions that the single-gender setting would provide girls an avenue to success in technology without feeling intimidated or bullied by their male peers have proven to be true. This approach is apparently not limited to Rochester area schools but is actually being implemented at over 500 public schools nationwide.I commend this approach to give middle school girls the chance to develop the interest and confidence for science. These are the years when students are developing many of their personal styles for communication and problem resolution. To be able to build these traits in an encouraging environment will help these girls be successful in the future.
However, I do wonder how the schools will reintegrate the girls once they have built some confidence and love for STEM fields? What is the best way to insert them back into an environment that is more like the real world, where they are likely to be outnumbered by men? Could some leadership classes (highlighting gender differences and ways to effectively utilize those differences) be provided before entering the co-ed classes in high school? Could there be some transition classes at the later part of middle school, maybe ones where the all-girl and all-boy tech classes compete?
I do feel that there is some real good to be gained from competition and encouraging girls to embrace competition. In my own personal development, when I was told that I could not achieve at the same level with my male counterparts, that just motivated and encouraged me to do even better. That competitive spirit is very prevalent in college and professional environments, so we do owe it to our girls in STEM to get them accustomed to defining, dealing with, and embracing competition as a tool rather than shying away from it. (Check out what NCFIRST has achieved in the area of gracious professionalism in competition.)
Despite my reservations about single-gender classes (without defined reintegration plans), I am thrilled to hear about more and more efforts being implemented to encourage STEM in our girls and young women. As female professionals in male-dominated industries, we owe it to our daughters, nieces, and other girls to help open opportunities for these women in the future. Technology-based careers will be essential to address our challenges of tomorrow, and I want women to be seated at the table—and even at the head of the table—to solve those challenges.What have been your experiences in trying to boost confidence and also embrace competition in girls and young women in STEM?
–By Nannette Stangle-Castor
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