STEM Equity Pipeline Expanding Options for Women and

STEM Equity Pipeline. Expanding Options for Women and Girls in STEM Strategies for Teachers Mimi Lufkin National Alliance for Partnerships in Equity STEM Success for All Conference Madison, WI March 16, 2011

Why Do We Need to Encourage Students to Study Science & Engineering? o In the last 50 years, more than half of America’s sustained economic growth was fueled by engineers, scientists and advanceddegree technologists, a mere 5% of America’s 132 million-person workforce. (1) o Aging STEM workforce- DOD, NASA and NIH STEM workers eligible to retire will more than double by 2012(1) o By the year 2050, 85% of the entrants into the workforce will be people of color and women. (2) In 2003, women were 26. 1% of all STEM occupations. In 2004, African Americans and Hispanics were 6. 2% and 5. 3% of all STEM occupations respectively. (3) o The National Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that our greatest needs will be in computer-related fields that propel innovation across the economy. (1) Female bachelors degree recipients dropped from 37% in 1985 to 27% in 2003. (2) Source: See Notes Page

Why Do We Care if Women and Minorities Become Engineers and Scientists? o As a consequence of a lack of diversity we pay an opportunity cost, a cost in designs not thought of, in solutions not produced. Source: Dr. Bill Wulf, Past President, National Academy of Engineering o If we do not engage women and minorities in the engineering enterprise, we are ignoring more than 50% of America’s intellectual talent. Source: Bostonworks. com

Team of women engineers at Ford Motor Co. who designed the Windstar Van

Access to and Participation in STEM n Shrinking gender gap in performance on national assessments in math and science between boys and girls n Still significant gaps when looking at gender AND race/ethnicity or socioeconomic status n Girls not translating their academic success in STEM to careers in STEM

Women’s Participation in STEM Careers 60 Percentage of Women 50 40 30 20 10 0 Biological scientists Chemists and Environmental Computer materials scientists and programmers software scientists geoscientists systems engineers analysts Source: CPST data derived from BLS data Chemical Civil engineers Electrical and Mechanical engineers electronics engineers

My Top Five What can teachers do to support girl’s success in STEM careers

What can teachers do to support girl’s success in STEM careers o Top Five Strategies n n n Know your own biases Exposure early and often Engage parents Pay attention to the little things Use role models

Implicit Bias Most people associate science and math fields with “male” and humanities and arts fields with “female. ” § Take a test to learn about your unconscious bias at https: //implicit. harvard. edu. § Take steps to address your biases.

STEM Equity Pipeline Webinar o Implicit Bias in STEM – The Power of Automatic Unintended Mindsets n Fred Smyth n University of Virginia Available at www. stemequitypipeline. org

Early Exposure n Pre-enrollment exploration programs n Tours that include hands-on activities n Informal experiences supported by formal experiences n STEM program exploration days (Diva Tech Day) n Summer camps (Rosie’s Girls, Sally Ride Science Camp) n Collaborate with community based organizations

Diva Tech Day http: //pages. minot. k 12. nd. us/votech/File/resources/divatech 11. htm

Rosie’s Girls Summer Camp http: //www. rosiesgirls. org/index. html

Parental Support n Parents are the #1 influence of student college major and career choice n Negative messages from people with emotional influence difficult to overcome n Educate parents o o o Newsletter articles Website information Parent night program Open House demonstrations Student award programs Career information

American Careers Magazine o Nontraditional careers issue o For more information go to www. napequity. org

The Little Things Make a Big Difference n Attribution Theory o Girls more likely to attribute success to external factors and failure to internal factors n Stereotype Threat o Stereotype that girls are not as capable as boys in math affects their performance n Growth vs. Fixed Mind Set o Intelligence can be developed n Gender Isolation o Cohorts more likely to complete

Attribution Theory o What we attribute our success or failures affects our motivation o Girls are more likely to attribute their success to external factors (hard work) and not to internal factors (skill) o Causes girls to underestimate ability and dropout faster

Negative stereotypes about girls’ and women’s abilities in math and science adversely affect their performance in these fields. Performance on a Challenging Math Test, by Stereotype Threat Condition and Gender Source: Spencer, S. J. , Steele, C. M. , & Quinn, D. M. , 1999, "Stereotype threat and women's math performance, " Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 35(1), p. 13. Source: AAUW, 2010 Why So Few? Women in STEM

In math and science, a growth mindset benefits girls. Fixed Mindset Growth Mindset Intelligence is static. Intelligence can be developed. Leads to a desire to look smart and therefore a tendency to Leads to a desire to learn and therefore a tendency to • avoid challenges • embrace challenges • give up easily due to obstacles • persist despite obstacles • see effort as fruitless • see effort as path to mastery • ignore useful feedback • learn from criticism • be threatened by others’ success • be inspired by others’ success Source: AAUW, 2010 Why So Few? Women in STEM

Student Isolation n Cohort of underrepresented students in a program are more likely to complete than a single individual n Individuals more likely to o Have trouble integrating effectively in to social structure o Suffer decreased performance o Drop out

Instructional Strategies o Encourage girls to own their successes o Increase questioning wait time to engage more students in discussions o Teach students about stereotype threat o Teach students that intellectual skills can be acquired o Praise students for effort, highlight the struggle. o Schedule students in cohorts when possible o Manage cooperative learning groups o Help girls recognize their STEM career relevant skills

Nontraditional Role Models n Strongest evidence in the research n Need to see someone that looks like them in the career n Family members are significant n Teachers n Mentors

Nontraditional Role Models n n n n Career speakers Job shadowing Field trips Mentoring Online career exploration Print images Video selection

Girl Tech – Francis Tuttle Career Technology Center, OK Mentoring program – pre-engineering enrollment increased from 16. 8% to 21% in two years.

Resources n www. napequity. org n www. stemequitypipeline. org

Questions?