MathBrainy - Blog

AMC 8/MathCounts Special : Problems of the week #4: Live Now

And the Gender Gap in STEM continues to stay remarkable in 2023

As we all are aware that there exists a huge gender gap in the science, technology, engineering, and math fields as women are vastly underrepresented in these fields. The new reports show that the gender gap continues to remain remarkable in STEM fields as women still make up only 28% of the STEM workforce. The low numbers of females pursuing the STEM field are really worrisome as they point out gender inequality, lack of involvement, lack of diversity, and fair treatment to all in our economy and society. The need of the hour is that we address this issue seriously and encourage and support our girls to pursue STEM careers There is still a long way to go to narrow this gender gap and balance the numbers of women in STEM Fields.

Female Graduates with STEM subject statistics

Here is the subjectwise breakdown of the percentage of females who graduated with core STEM subjects for the past six years. We can see that through all these years, there has been a small amount of increase in the number of women who graduated with core STEM subjects. This means that the ongoing efforts of encouraging young girls to pursue STEM education are working. We need to continue with this cause to encourage females to pursue careers in STEM fields and support them by providing the needed help.

Why Math is a core subject in STEM

Math is the foundation of STEM. It helps those working in fields of STEM understand and solve problems. Math can be a tough subject for many, but understanding many of its concepts can give students the confidence they need to pursue a job in STEM. Knowledge of a certain level of math serves as a basic requirement to pursue STEM careers as math is extensively used for solving problems, building algorithms, analyzing data, recognizing patterns or behaviors, doing research, making conclusions, and designing models in engineering and technological fields. Knowledge of advanced-level math concepts can make science, technology, and engineering subjects seem easier as it helps students develop critical thinking, logical reasoning, and problem-solving skills and make them think outside the box . A strong foundation in mathematics can lead to fewer struggles in work and learning. It is also highly valued in jobs, so it can lead to greater success in the STEM field.