Increasing Diversity in STEM
Early access to education is key! Even those who have access to the best education and networks from a young age rarely get introduced to the career education paths and professional lifestyles that STEM can offer. Providing more visibility into how college majors and curricula can lead to various STEM careers can help people with diverse backgrounds get involved as early in their career as possible.
Barriers to Closing the Gender Gap
Access to networks and resources that give people the right education, training, and networking opportunities will help close the career gender gap in STEM. For example, not many non-engineers go to school to be in tech. Many times, they are given a chance to try tech right out of college—as I was.
The Changing World of STEM
STEM continues to evolve and create new opportunities as technology evolves and expands worldwide. This presents great opportunities to bridge diversity and inclusion gaps, and continue to break down barriers for talent and operations in a global economy.
Moving Women Forward in STEM
To move women forward in STEM, we need continued mentorship, salary and network transparency, and a pay-it-forward attitude.
Where I See Women in STEM Five Years from Now
Globally, women will continue to be empowered to educate themselves and other women in ways that will let them increase their expertise in STEM, because women are awesome and that is what we do 🙂
My STEM Experience
Being a woman in STEM hasn’t always been easy. I often had to figure things out on my own, and ran into challenges along the way, such as finding mentors who were willing to spend the time to help me develop my skills and show me the way. This experience, however, has made me stronger, and made me appreciate the need for more women in STEM and the need to help bring others who are interested in the field on board.