One of the main issues at the heart of the STEM education movement is improving the number of women scientists and engineers.  The American Associate of University Women (AAUW) recently published a research report, Why So Few? Women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics,which indicates that although the number of women in STEM fields has improved, many of the same barriers that have hindered progress still remain such as stereotypes about STEM careers and gender-bias.

Although the number of male and female students studying math and science are relatively even, AAUW’s report points out that this balance breaks down at the college level where women are much less likely to pursue a major in a STEM field than their male counterparts.

So what steps can be made to ensure more women enter the STEM Pipeline?  AAUW makes a few recommendations:

- Actively recruit women into STEM majors.

- Send an inclusive message about who makes a good science or engineering student.

- Emphasize real-life applications in early STEM courses.

What practices and activities do you think could help encourage more women to pursue careers in STEM?

photo:  (The Futures Channel) Wildlife Biologist Jennifer Wilson at the Brazoria Wildlife Refuge near Houston, Texas.

This entry was posted on Thursday, March 25th, 2010 at 5:59 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.