Women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math

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Women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and
Math

• Catherine Clewett, PhD
• Assistant Professor, Physics Department
• Fort Hays State University
• My NASA DATA workshop
• Saturday, September 8, 2007

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Road Map

• Background
• Current State of Affairs
• Problem Areas
• A case study.
• What can YOU do?
• Resources

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Background

• The pursuit of new scientific and engineering
  knowledge and its use in service to society
  requires talent, perspectives and insight that
  can only be assured by increasing diversity in
  the science, engineering, and technological
  workforce. One of the National Science
  Foundation's (NSF) key strategic goals is to
  cultivate a world-class, broadly inclusive
  science and engineering workforce, and expand the
  scientific literacy of all citizens. Investments
  are directed at programs that strengthen
  scientific and engineering (SE) research
  potential and education programs at all levels.
  These outcomes are essential to the Nation as we
  progress toward an increasingly technological job
  market and a scientifically complex society. 

-National Science Foundation, Synopsis from the
ADVANCE Grant proposal submission
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• Women make up 51 of the population.
• Assumption proportionate representation in
  fields wanted.

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Why arent we graduating women in Engineering,
Physics, Computer, and Earth Science?

• Leaky pipeline?
• Cant do it?
• Arent enrolling in the first place.

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Percent of public high school graduates of 2000
who had taken various mathematics and science
courses in high school, by sex 2000
SOURCE U.S. Department of Education, National
Center for Education Statistics, 2000 High School
Transcript Study (HSTS00).
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of Full-time, first-year undergraduates
enrolled in Engineering programs
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What helps?

• Most women choose physics/engineering early
  high school.
• Positive attention from physics professors as
  undergraduates.
• Eighty percent said that attitudes about women in
  science need improvement.

survey was conducted in conjunction with the
Second International Conference of Women in
Physics in 2005
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What can you do?

• Help change the attitudes of everyone women can
  do science, and they have important contributions
  to provide in ALL fields.
• Give girls positive feedback.
• Dont give permission to fail.
• Encourage girls they CAN do any science they
  want to. (A personal invitation helps.)
• Expose everyone to STEM careers.

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Resources

• FHSU faculty
• School visits
• Physics Fun Show
• Bring your students to campus
• Contact Catherine F. M. Clewett Physics
  Department Fort Hays State University Hays, KS
  67601 [phone] cfclewett_at_fhsu.edu
• Local Engineers
• Local Scientists

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National Associations

• SWE (Society for Women Engineers)
  http//www.swe.org
• American Physical Society/American Institute of
  Physics http//www.aps.org/ http//www.aip.org/
• The Association for women in mathematics
  http//www.awm-math.org/
• The American Chemical Society http//www.acs.org/
• The American Geophysical Union http//www.agu.org
• The Association for Women Geoscientists
  http//www.awg.org
• Other engineering associations look here for a
  list http//wally.rit.edu/internet/subject/soc.htm
  l

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• Thank you
• You CAN make a difference