We know that there are nationwide problems attracting and retaining women in STEM careers, specifically in lucrative areas like computer programming and engineering. I’ve observed this on a micro scale over the years in the computer programming and robotics classes my boys have enjoyed. There are often anywhere from 3 to 8 boys for every girl in those classes.
At the career level, issues like sexism, unequal pay, lack of support, and workplace policies, especially those related to family-friendly issues (hello, these help dads, too!), are points of contention, but there’s a pipeline problem, too.
We need more than girl-friendly engineering toys to get girls going in STEM, but you know what? We need those, too. I tackled the issue of getting and keeping girls interested in STEM in my May column at Sylvan Learning’s Mom-Minded blog. Whether your daughter (niece, etc.) is interested in computer programming or cosmetics, the piece has loads of linky resources for you. Go read it!
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