Engineering Gender Gap

An issue that is talked about frequently in STEM is the lack of female participation that we constantly see conveyed through copious amounts of data. Why is this, and how can we address it? Well, this is an extremely complex question and problem that's been addressed for several decades, and it's really difficult to communicate in a relatively brief blog post, but I will talk about some of the main points in the SETM gender gap briefly to draw upon this matter.

First, let's take a quick look at the history of women in STEM. According to the US Census, females held just 8% of all STEM jobs/careers in the year 1970; this increased to a much higher percentage, 27%, in 2019. Interestingly, the data shows women participation increasing even more drastically specifically in Mathematics and the Physical Sciences, while Engineering and Computer-related work still remains relatively low through 2019. Overall, there is substantial developments, but there is still a long way to go to equalize these numbers. Another important data visualization that the census data shows is the inherent pay gap between men and women when it mainly comes to Engineering-related jobs. A statistical significance is shown in almost all of the listed careers which is alarming. A confirmation of this pay gap was conveyed by Yale , which showed that two identical résumés that were reviewed (with the only difference being the names of a man vs. a woman) produced higher marks in the man's profile and reviewers were more likely to hire him over the female. There is a structural difference between men and women in the realm of STEM, and the examples above are just brushing the surface of the larger problem.

Let's look more closely into the reasons why we may see data like that above. There is data from Statista that shows that around the world, there actually seems to be higher female STEM representation in certain countries and regions; for starters, there is a high burst of women working in STEM-related fields in the Middle East and South Asia. This can be analyzed through different perspectives - it may be that women in these areas are trying harder to counteract the lack of gender equity imposed by more visibly by society while women in the US are pursuing other fields since this disparity may not be as evident. This perspective, however, is frequently refuted because of the data that indicates women, on average, make less compared to men working in the same fields. Therefore, women may gravitate towards other fields such as the arts and social sciences where pay rates and career-wise opportunities seem to be more equitable. Even though the cultural pressure to rebel against the inequity/opportunity of women is not as present in the US, the inherent stereotypes are.

It’s also noteworthy that this continued lack of participation in STEM also causes an unintentional “positive” feedback loop where females constantly feel elevated levels of imposter syndrome about competing inside of the classroom with the increased number of males. For example, some will choose not to join those fields, but those who do may also drop out if they’re not performing towards the top of the class. STEM classes are usually quite difficult for most, and class averages can range on the low end especially in core classes. Usually, performing near the average will be sufficient (even though you should always aim for the A!) A lot STEM success comes down to application so it's important to excel in projects, research and participation rather than comparing grades to anyone else, including males. Another point that's important to mention is the manners in which many women share about being treated either in school or jobs in this field. Because of pre-conceived notions with these stereotypes, women are treated unfairly or sometimes put down by male counterparts which leaves many women feeling uncomfortable in their teams or workplace and ultimately really impacts the company itself whose best engineer may be that very female. Other women may hesitate to ask for advice or guidance on certain projects or tasks because of experiencing these interactions. This can form setbacks and a lack of a growing workspace.

Although breaking a stereotype or societal norm is difficult and takes time, there are a myriad of ways to break it. For example, addressing this issue more frequently at the middle and high school level is one way to change pre-molded stereotypes at a young age. For example, at USC, we have the K-12 STEM Center which is dedicated to inspiring STEM identity in diverse student groups in the greater LA area. This is done primarily through USC students who instruct different STEM programs and camps. During these programs, female participation is also highly prioritized and emphasized through inclusion of important females in science and technology, having tons of female instructors, and highlighting this gap through communication. These younger ages are really where we can break that societal norm that's usually engrained early on of "pink meaning girl and blue meaning boy." This can indirectly manifest itself later on as "engineer meaning boy", too. Another way of calling attention to this matter is in the university/college setting directly. Also at USC, we have multiple "Female in STEM" clubs which have involvement from USC faculty directly. USC WiSE (Women in Science & Engineering) brings together females from all fields of STEM on campus for networking events, research seminars, and workshops which all help tackle and counteract this gender gap. Even large companies have worked on organizing important events to foster the growth of women in science & technology. Google (among many other companies) hosts an annual International Women's Day Series in which women from academia and industry attend keynotes from influential speakers, work together through workshops and network with fellow female colleagues. These are just a few differently-scaled examples of how we can reinforce and extend these ideas into society.

As you can probably see, the topic of gender gap in STEM participation is one with many segments and complexities, which is what makes it a tougher issue to solve. The stereotypes that have persisted throughout several generations have caused many women to avoid STEM and many to participate initially and then leave STEM. Furthermore, there is a very apparent disparity in the pay and expectations between female and male engineers not only in the tech industry but also in academia. It's important for not only the greater STEM community to continue addressing this matter, but for those of us as women to really round up together through programs like those previously mentioned on campuses, offices and social media.

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