It's a typical Saturday and you are out shopping for new clothes and enter the girls section. After your eyes get used to all the hot pink, flowers, and hearts, you begin to read what's on the T-shirts, and it's something along the lines of: "I'm too pretty to do homework." Who says girls can't succeed in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) fields, or education at that? Did we just forget all the fabulous females that excelled in these areas? Where did all this stereotyping come from?
Well, the University of Chicago sheds some light on this. Mr. Forbes is trying to understand how stereotype threat impacts women, why they leave STEM fields, and how that trend can be reversed. Stereotype threat happens because our society tends to reinforce stereotypes, such as “women and girls are not good at math.” For many females, they encounter this stereotype in the world and often reflect upon it during stressful, anxiety-ridden situations, like when taking a test, something that might happen to you. These can become a detriment to their performance, inadvertently reinforcing for a woman that she, like other women, is not good at math, for example. Mr. Forbes recommends girls to get interested in STEM programs and learn as much as possible in their STEM classes at an early age, but that isn't reality yet; girls are still biting their nails in the academic hot seat.
I view these studies as purely a mental illusion that girls feel. Girls may feel a lack of confidence in themselves, but as soon as they overcome it, they will shine. I know that I have never felt below my male classmates, and my Science/Math scores are exceptional (A+). I have also given many presentations using Microsoft PowerPoint, and have even created my own websites. I truly exceed in STEM, and I know that if fellow girls can just overcome this stereotype, they will too, like many of them already are. But I was shocked that it's not only the female's mindset, but of the job employer's as well.
In the summer of 2012, researchers at Yale published a study proving that physicists, chemists and biologists are likely to view a young male scientist more favorably than a woman with the same qualifications. Presented with identical summaries of the accomplishments of two imaginary applicants, professors at six major research institutions were significantly more willing to offer the man a job. If they did hire the woman, they set her salary, on average, nearly $4,000 lower than the man’s per year.
All this leads us to today, where we still see stereotyped retailers, biased employers, and nervous girls. We still see discouraging ads and clothing, driving girls away from STEM Fields. Though many parents are complaining to clothing lines and demanding that they stop selling such sexist clothing, but others are taking this determination a step further. Many organizations, such as Girl Scouts, FabFems, and Women @ NASA, promote female roles in STEM. They hope to get future generations of girls back on the right track.
So, girls, go for STEM! With these organizations and concerned and involved parents trying to reshape our society's stereotypes, we hope to really be equally viewed and respected equally as our male counterparts. Until then, we can't get discouraged; the women who didn't are widely known today. Marie Curie was an exceptional scientist, Sally Ride was the first American Woman in Space, and Marissa Mayer is the CEO of Yahoo!. All 3 of these women, along with many more, have overcome the gender barriers, and done something great with their contributions towards STEM. All they needed was determination, passion, and the confidence to overcome stereotypes...maybe you could be the next leading female in STEM!
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