Dr. Terri Ferguson
English Composition 2
7 December 2017
Girl Code
STEM is the acronym for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics and is a broad field of careers that has remained predominantly male. While girls and boys, during their early education years, participate in the same curricular studies, too often girls begin to feel that they are unqualified, or not good enough, for continuing on the STEM path. The question that many organizations and key people are trying to answer is why this change occurs. Where can this be reversed? We, as a society need to determine ways to spark early interest …show more content…
While girls in the younger grades will state that they enjoy building things, perceive themselves as good in Math, or show interest in learning about computers, this rarely continues through the higher grades and into college. This phenomenon needs to be explained and a course of action created to reverse this trend. Much of the research states that girls begin to feel that they are not as good at these subjects as their male counterparts, there is an incorrect view of what these careers are actually like, and the societal pressures of what types of jobs a woman should hold. The result of this type of thinking is that we have an alarming gender gap in the workplace in these fields. For example, while more women graduate from college with degrees, only roughly 10% of computer science degrees are awarded to women. Even fewer women receive degrees in the various fields of Engineering. The sciences fair slightly better, however only in the areas of life science where the percentage is still under fifty percent. This trend continues when looking earlier in the education process, as well. While more girls take Advanced Placement exams in general and receive more passing scores of three or better, less …show more content…
While girls continue to demonstrate excellence in these areas, as they move through the education process, fewer chose to pursue these fields with each level of education. By providing courses, resources and extracurricular opportunities that are specifically geared towards encouraging interest and academic success for girls in these areas, the number of women in the STEM fields can increase. Although there may be a lack of personnel and funding currently for these endeavors, these can be resolved with the help of outside funding opportunities and a shift in instructional schedules for teachers. With the importance that the STEM fields have to the success of our society, it is not wise to continue to alienate half of the population. We need the best and the brightest, regardless of gender. Change is