Why Women in STEM Need To Tackle Underrepresentation

By Women Love Tech
on 13 November 2022

Under-representation of women in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) continues to be a major issue even with government initiatives in recent years to boost women studying and being employed in these disciplines. Yet, women continue to be underrepresented in these areas, and discrimination and systemic barriers still exist today.

Research shows women are still underrepresented in STEM

In 2018, women earned the majority of all college degrees in the U.S., accounting for 58% of all college degrees. Furthermore, women earned 53% of all STEM college degrees, yet the majority of those (85%) were in health-related fields with just 22% in engineering and 19% in computer-related studies. 

However, even with women earning the majority of STEM degrees, only approximately 14% of those take employment in these areas leading to a considerable gender disparity in workplaces. Additionally, research has shown that women still tend to earn less than their male counterparts in STEM roles with Asian men earning the highest and black and Hispanic women earning the least

Women struggle to get their voices heard in academia

Differences in pay form just one-factor affecting women in STEM, though, contributing to a larger issue of discrimination. A recent study looked at 1.07 million physics papers published from 1990 until 2020 across 35 physics journals. Its findings were that male-sounding names were frequently over-cited compared to female-sounding names that were consistently under-cited. 

Even though it was previously thought that women applied less often and for less money compared to men, recent research has shown that this is not the case. Women win fewer grants and are awarded proportionally less of the requested sum of money compared to men when applying for grant funding. This can have a negative effect on innovation and productivity since their findings are often overlooked. 

Her Forward provides an outlet for Women In STEM

Yet, it is not just in academia where women are facing bias and struggling to get their voices heard. Women in STEM are frequently given less coverage than men in magazines and publications and their stories often get overlooked. More awareness is needed around the key issues women in STEM are facing in order to break down the stereotypes and systemic barriers in today’s world.

Her Forward is an online news publication focusing on women business leaders and female entrepreneurs from around the world, providing a dedicated platform where they can share their success stories, the challenges they face, as well as, advice and tips for others. The publication was founded in 2021 by Michael Peres (Mikey Peres), a software engineer, tech investor, and journalist based in the U.S. Peres announced the launch in conjunction with the other publications: Peres Daily, Breaking 9 To 5, and Israel Now.

The publication aims to serve women entrepreneurs and business leaders from all walks of life, providing an open, honest environment where they can share their unique insights. Her Forward’s vision is to provide in-depth features and articles on key trends to provide value for other women in STEM. Furthermore, the women’s magazine hopes to give women in STEM an outlet to voice their opinions so that it can help bring about much-needed changes. 

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