Last month we wrote a post about the shortage of women in working in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) internationally. In this article we aren't going to dive into any statistics surrounding this contentious issue, neither will we discuss why it is important to improve women's representation in STEM fields. So check out our previous post if you want to know more!

Rather, this post will focus on some relatively simple solutions to the problem. There has been a great deal of research to find out a) why girls and women are not entering STEM fields, and b) what can be done about it. To answer the first question, research points to 3 main causes:

Gender Stereotype Bias - Women and girls don't enter STEM due to gender stereotypes i.e. science and math for boys, humanities for girls, or mechanical engineering is a man's profession and teaching/education is a women's. A huge amount of research has shown this can affect everything from girls performing worse in science and math tests to women being put off pursuing a career in STEM. It's also still a prominent issue in the job market, with studies showing employers often hire less able men than women in science and computing roles.
Low Self-Efficacy - This is a factor linked to gender bias, where women holding low self-efficacy for STEM subjects i.e. low self confidence and belief that they can succeed in these domains is what causes fewer to enter STEM. Even though on average boys and girls perform equally in science and math, girls' perception that they underperform has a wide range of negative impacts on STEM representation.
Career Values - Sweden is one of the most gender-neutral countries in the world, but a lack of women in STEM still exists here. Research suggests this may be in part down to women and men placing different values on careers i.e. in the absence of stereotypes women choose careers they believe will be more rewarding, such as health or education.

3 Simple Solutions to Encourage More Girls into STEM

These are complex problems with causes heavily rooted in society, but progress is still being made to overcome them. Increasingly, we are understanding the significant role educators play in shaping girls - and boys for that matter - perceptions of STEM subjects. And as the body of research grows, some key solutions are emerging that educators can implement to help solve it!

Identify & Reduce Gender Bias - We all use stereotypes and biases to make quick decisions in life, it's just a cognitive shortcut formed by our brain. However, this doesn't mean these decisions are grounded by fact and, as the research has shown, they can have negative impacts. Therefore, taking measures to identify and reduce these biases is key. Go to https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/ and take the implicit bias test developed by Harvard researchers. Uncover where you might hold stereotypes and think of ways you can make changes in the classroom to eliminate them.
Role Models in STEM Fields - Recent work from Microsoft's educational research division found that having role models in STEM is incredibly important when it comes to inspiring girls. In fact, in Europe it was found to be the most important factor! Role models can include parents, teachers, an older student mentor, or leaders/influencers in STEM. Start a mentor program where older girls studying STEM subjects talk to/coach younger girls - perhaps using coding & programming kits for kids to start a workshop. Or bring in female professionals from the field to give inspiring talks. Even something as simple as introducing some female innovators and tech leaders would be beneficial.
Increase Confidence & Reduce Stereotype Threat - Research has shown that in groups of girls where a difference in math scores was observed, simply telling them there was no difference in gender ability resulted in test scores equalizing. This phenomenon is known as 'stereotype threat'. Fortunately, informing girls of the facts - that there is no performance difference or innate ability - and teaching about stereotype threat has been shown to be very effective in reducing or almost eliminating its effects.