In my previous post, I listed three problems that plague women in today’s society which will only hinder progression if left unchecked. The three problems are the wage gap between the genders, the lack of care for maternity leave needs, and the reluctance of women to enter the STEM fields. If we solve these problems or work towards a solution, society will benefit from the new perspectives and ideas brought by women and men working in a cooperative fashion.
STEM fields, which stand for science, technology, engineering, and math, are essential in the progression of the material world since the fields improve understanding in technological application and home care. It is a much needed field since it is a direct link to solving the world’s problems. According to a White House report, women will earn 33% more money than other jobs if they decide to participate in a STEM related field. If more women choose STEM fields, the wage gap between men and women will gradually lessen and equal pay will be distributed to everyone based on ability. Only about 20% of all STEM related bachelor’s degrees were given to women in 2012 and if we increase that fraction we will eventually make great progress in solving many of the gender inequality gaps.
While this process will be difficult, there should be steps to help empower women into the STEM field. This has to start with more women entering STEM fields first so there are role models to follow. To entice women to enter STEM fields, more scholarships for women should be granted and reallocating some funds from the military budget to the education budget would help a lot. There are currently a few organizations such as the Society of Women Engineers and the Center for Women Technology that do give scholarships for STEM women but there needs to be more. An initial push for women in STEM will be necessary for more to follow and nurturing that at an early age will be necessary. The education system will potentially need to be changed to teach more math, science, and technological skills to induce interest at an early age. The image and gender roles of women will also need to be changed so there will not be any societal expectations that hinder women from going into STEM fields. This image of women will be repealed once more women enter the STEM field. When there is a high market of women in the STEM fields, companies will eventually have no choice but provide better maternity leave policies for the growing population and labor force. As a result, the first step of empowering women to enter the STEM fields can result in a big step for societal change and solutions to the many problems women currently face in the workforce. Therefore, STEM fields are the future for not only technological application but for societal benefits as well.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/eop/ostp/women
http://www.ngcproject.org/statistics
http://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/stem-education/2011/12/13/9-college-scholarships-for-women-in-stem
Your solution focuses on the wage gap, like mine. I agree with your post, I feel that women should be encouraged to participate in the STEM fields more often, and not see mathematical calculation as a “man’s job.” I also find this to be a bit of irony, as if these roles are made for men, yet if women are in the liberal arts majors, they are still paid less and looked as inferior to men. So there really are no women fields and male fields in the workforce, there is only, male fields, and super male fields. Now, while it is true that joining the STEM program would garner an increase in income, it would not be enough to close the income gap. Also, this assumes that once the opportunity is open, most if not all women would flood the workforce looking to join STEM fields. Obviously, people are diverse, and will seek different careers and jobs, from STEM fields to liberal arts and social science fields. My solution argued small time policy change, but yours may be a little harder to implement simply because of the structure surrounding the issue in STEM. The structure must be dealt with first for STEM fields to open up, and yet, pay should be equal no matter what job you do.
I like how you mention the lack of female presence in the STEM fields. I agree with you when you say that it is vital for women to enter into these professions in order to have more of society working on the fields of science and technology. However, I feel that the reason women have such a low rate of working in STEM fields has to do not only with empowerment issues but with the archaic mentality that STEM fields are for men only. Therefore, it is the job of the employers and the professional workers in these fields to recognize women’s potential to work in science and technology. A solution therefore, would be to offer STEM companies or programs to equalize the hiring process for both men and women. Furthermore, while women are underrepresented in these fields, we need to remember that assigning gender to a particular employment field is in it of itself sexist and irrational. Calling liberal arts or social sciences a “women’s field” is unfair, and while we are promoting women into STEM fields, we should additionally encourage men to enter into the social sciences, humanities, and the arts.
I agree with your idea that increasing the number of women in STEM jobs will help reduce the prejudice against their gender entering the field. As you stated, I think that the cultural perceptions of women will be the deciding factor on whether gender equality improves in the future. However, I think some of your solutions are misguided although well intentioned. The study that you reference stating that women earn 33% more in STEM field does not relate to the wage gap because they are referring to two different things. This only means that they earn more money relative to women in other fields and does not incorporate men. That being said, I do think that increasing the number of women in STEM fields will help reduce the wage gap because it will reduce the cultural stigma against women in science. Currently, there are more women than men in college, but this is not true in the STEM fields. There is no biological reason for this gap to exist; however, the difference is evident. I am not sure if scholarships are the most effective solution considering it costs the same amount to get an engineering degree as it does a liberal arts degree. That being said, it cannot hurt and may give opportunities to women interested in STEM who would otherwise not be able to afford college.
I definitely agree with you when you say that a big problem that is faced is the fact that women are not going into STEM fields as much as they should. They make up approximately half of the population, so why would they not make up at least half of the STEM majors. I was actually surprised when you said that women in STEM fields would earn more than their counterparts in different majors. I was under the impression that the wage disparity was the same for all fields. I feel that the scholarships are definitely one way to help solve the problem, however, I don’t think that it will solve the root of the problem. The real issue is that women are not trying to earn a degree in a STEM field. Increasing the scholarships would simply make it more financially viable for women to enter these fields, but if money were a real issue then simply going to a less expensive school would be the solution for various women. While scholarships would provide some motivation for women, creating programs in schools to present the benefits of a degree in a STEM field would also be beneficial. This way there will be more women that will see STEM fields as a field to earn a good living.
It seems your solution to the wage gap is to promote STEM field related careers to women. Your first sub-solution is to provide more scholarships and funds to women; wouldn’t that be really unfair to men? I would want more funds/scholarships too regardless of my race or gender. I personally feel like the inducing interest is much like manipulating women while they are young. Do you think there should be more STEM related courses should be taught for the simple purpose of motivating women to join those fields? You proposed an initiative to change the image of women in STEM fields without a solution. I don’t see any related solution regarding to that, but I personally feel like the only way to solve that is to involve more women in the STEM fields.