A career in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) offers so much for our girls; opportunity, the chance to shape our world and job stability in an increasingly tech-focused marketplace. There’s a massive gender imbalance that persists in STEM-related fields. While determining exact cross-industry percentages is tricky, the number of women in these jobs generally hovers between 10 and 30 percent, even though having women involved offers so much to the world. If half of the population isn’t contributing to the best ideas, they’re not, in fact, the best ideas. Without female inventors, we wouldn’t have windshield wipers, coffee filters and disposable diapers. Recent innovations that have come from girls and women include a smartphone attachment that lets parents diagnose ear infections, and a water-purification system that uses an inexpensive photo catalyst and sunlight to produce clean drinking water.
Some pros and moms of science-minded girls were asked to weigh in on what we can all be doing to make our homes and family lives more STEM-friendly. Here’s what they said.
Watch your words
Consider how you speak differently to your sons and daughters, says Saadia Muzaffar, the founder of TechGirls Canada, an organization that examines ways to address the barriers to diversity and equity in the technology sector. “Often, when kids make the exact same project, they will get different responses. A girl might get, ‘Oh, you’re so crafty!’ while a boy will hear, ‘You should be an engineer.’”
Likewise, when watching TV or movies, start pointing out inequality: Isn’t it weird that the guys are usually the ones driving the spaceship? “You’re teaching boys and girls to develop their critical-thinking skills around gender stereotyping.”
Zakia Ahmad, a mom of two girls who works in chemical engineering, agrees. “Any time there is a woman doing something amazing on the news, I’ll call them in and say, ‘I want you to see what this woman is doing.’”
Treat the World as Your Laboratory
From the time her 13-year-old daughter, Emily, was little, Kristin MacDonnell has operated under one central parenting theory: “Whenever she approached me with an idea, I was always open to it.” For the past four years, for example, MacDonnell has had larvae shipped to her house so she and Emily could raise butterflies through their different stages (and then let them loose). Her science-focused kid has always been inquisitive, and MacDonnell says she just had to keep up.
One tip for parents looking to broaden their kids’ interest in the sciences? Mix it up with fun stuff, says MacDonnell. “Every time we plan a trip, I make sure there’s an educational component to it. I plan stops that will be learning experiences, like the aquarium or a museum or factory tour. I can’t believe how much I’m learning in the process.”
Teach a Girl to Fish
“Encourage problem solving and teach resourcefulness,” says Laura Plant, the co-founder and co-executive director of Ladies Learning Code. Rather than providing the answers to their questions, work with your children to use technology to research information and come up with solutions themselves. “Show enthusiasm for your kids’ ideas; set up a place for building and prototyping, and stock this space with materials and tools that will inspire and empower your kids to bring their ideas to reality.”
How to make coding cool
“Computers scared me as a girl,” says Laura Plant. “I really avoided them. I never even considered taking computer class. I remember peeking into the lab once and seeing 15 boys. I thought it was boring and grey.”
Now Plant is the co-executive director of Ladies Learning Code (LLC). “Women and girls make up more than half of all tech consumers,” she says. “We want the developers of tech to reflect that.”
There is much to be done to improve women’s representation in STEM fields that have been traditionally considered male domains. Two ‘early’ interventions that can have real impact on women’s STEM participation include boosting confidence by providing girls and women with real-world experience during their studies as well as relevant role models.
Source: Today’s Parent-10/3/18