The Insider’s Guide to a Successful Career in STEM: A Woman’s Perspective
As gender diversity in STEM again slides downward, there must be a concerted effort to encourage and support those passionate in pursuing such careers—and maintaining their interest.
Electronic Design Magazine
By, Angela Lilly
After a small uptick of female interest in STEM fields in 2018, the figures have once again dropped to near-nominal levels in 2019. Unfortunately, this is not new.
Women’s participation in STEM has been in flux for years, and we’ve fought to bring more into the field and succeeded—in part. More women have entered into STEM since 1978 than any other field, but a whopping 84% of those women then later leave their roles. Something is happening here—and it’s widespread.
Industries that heavily rely on diverse talent proficient in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) are approaching all-time lows as we witness females continuing to veer away from STEM industries at lightning speed. With females now making up only 17.5% of all civil, architectural, and sanitary STEM positions, and even then being high-risk and likely to leave their jobs, we have to look to the challenges that women face and provide help around the obstacles to foster success.
