ActionPapers

EDUCATIONAL ACHIEVEMENT:
STEM EDUCATION

“For any scientific future for women, I think they should be shown at an early age that these subjects can be fun, informative, and challenging.” _ Karyn Smith (online comment to Wisconsin Women = Prosperity’s Educational Achievement Task Force)

WHY:

The growth of the American economy and prosperity of Wisconsin citizens depends upon growth in the knowledge-based sector, especially those grounded in science and technology.¹

Compared to boys and men, girls and women have different experiences with science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). To succeed in STEM-related classes and careers, the formal curriculum must integrate gender equity and extra supports – clubs, child care, all-female STEM dorms, etc. – are necessary:

• Girls benefit from extracurricular all-girl science programs. Nearly 70% of high school girls who attend Smith College’s Summer Science and Engineering Program go on to major in science.²
• Women in community college training programs cite child care programs as one of the biggest contributors to their success in the programs.³
• Programs to support women in engineering have contributed to their rise from 2% of undergraduate engineering degree recipients in the 1970s to 18% by the 1990s.⁴
• Compared to a control group, students attending an all-female pre-technical training program had significantly higher levels of career and lifestyle self-efficacy and indicated greater knowledge of nontraditional careers and training opportunities.

WHAT: Coordinated programs to support girls and women in STEM-related classes, courses, and training programs

To increase the number of girls and women studying in these “non-traditional” fields, schools must institutionalize gender equity in their curricula, hire female and appropriately trained teachers, and supplement the classroom curriculum with informal learning.⁵

HOW:

• Insist that schools integrate STEM gender equity into the formal curriculum and that teachers receive appropriate professional development. Equity is not an “addon” – it is legally required (See “Educational Achievement: Title IX”). For Wisconsin to prosper, all citizens must fulfill their educational potential.
• Organize at the community level to change culture. Work with organizations such as the Girl Scouts, AAUW, school districts and PTOs to create a peer climate in which it is desirable for girls to achieve academically in non-traditional” fields. See: http://girlscouts.org; http://girlsgotech.org; http://aauw.org/research
• Work with schools, parent groups (PTO) to connect with the BEST Initiative. This program has been working since 2001 to build “a stronger, more diverse U.S. workforce in science, engineering, and technology by increasing the participation of underrepresented groups”, including women. The website contains information on model programs at both K-12 and post-secondary levels whose results have been validated through research-based evaluation. See: http://bestworkforce.org.
• Send program and project information to the UW System’s Women & Science Program. The UW System’s Women & Science Program devotes several web pages to STEM-related programs and projects for women and girls. Forward information about local projects and programs to .
• Invite the Lieutenant Governor to attend special events hosted by STEM-related programs or projects. To request her attendance, contact John Lease at 608/266–3516 or .

RESOURCES:

• For free report downloads:
  • http://www.bestworkforce.org./publications.htm
  • http://www.wisconsintechnologycouncil.com/vision_2020/
  • http://www.aauw.org/research/microscope.cfm
• University of Wisconsin System Women & Science Program: http://www.uwosh.edu/programs/wis/

¹ Wisconsin Technology Council. Vision 2020: A Model Wisconsin Economy. Madison, WI: Wisconsin Technology Council, 2002.
² Balancing the Equation: Where are women and girls in science, engineering, and technology? New York: The National Council for Research on Women, 2000.
³ Working first but working poor: the need for education and training following welfare reform Washington, DC: Institute for Women’s Policy Research, 2001.
⁴ Ibid.
⁵ American Association of University Women. Under the Microscope: A Decade of Gender Equity Projects in the Sciences. Washington, D.C.: AAUW Educational Foundation, 2004.