Gender Gap In STEM

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Gender Gap in STEM Women have made significant strides in their push for equal rights. Many young women take their rights and suffrage for granted, but they were fought for by the pioneer feminist in our world. Since the beginning of time women have been viewed as the weaker gender, yet that is slowly beginning to change. Women are given opportunities to pursue their desired careers, yet many fields still discriminate based on gender. This bias favoring men makes it difficult for women to pursue a career in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) fields; beginning in their college years, women face many obstacles and setbacks in their pursuit of a STEM career. However, the government is beginning to aid women in STEM fields …show more content…

Women make up a 58.1% majority of the workforce, yet are underrepresented in many STEM careers. In some fields such as social sciences, biological sciences, and the medical field, the percentage of men and women are equal. In other fields, such as chemistry (45.9%), women are almost equally represented. However, women are underrepresented in many of the physical science and engineering careers, such as environmental science (28.9%), chemical (22.3%), civil (13.1%), electrical (8.8%), industrial (17.8%), and mechanical engineering (5.5%) ("Statistics").
The low percentage of women in many physical science fields can be partly attributed to a hiring bias favoring men. Also, men receive promotions quicker than women, frustrating women. While the wage gap in STEM careers is less than the national average, a man’s salary is still on average $12,000 higher than a woman’s salary. With men receiving promotions faster, it is difficult for women to find mentors at work. Many women feel excluded at their workplace, causing them to leave the field before men ("10 …show more content…

The National Science Foundation released a ten year effort called the Career-Life Balance Initiative, which is aimed at retaining Women in their STEM positions even if they have a family. This initiative aims to create a balance for their career by making it easier for them to obtain grant extensions, having longer deferrals for childbirth or adoption, and giving them more opportunities for a virtual review of any panels they may create. However these benefits are aimed at women in the academic field, not the industrial field ("Women and Girls..."). The National Institutes of Health have released a similar program to aid women coming back into a STEM career after taking time off for family. They offer aid to eligible women to improve research skills. After this program, the members are likely to receive a partial/total award or grant ("NIH

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