Brianna White

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Jul 30, 2019
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“You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated” – Maya Angelou
Perhaps no field, no industry, no pursuit of excellence has perpetuated quite as many barriers for women—and especially women of color—as STEM has in the past four decades. Despite myriad calls for more inclusion, their representation remains paltry at best.
Women of color have only a 4% stake in positions in tech fields. Men are still the dominant force, and often an intimidating one that continues to distance females from even considering a future in those realms, let alone pursuing them with vigor. Without them, however, has U.S. tech lost its way? In some fields, it has completely struggled to keep pace with demand, wherein cybersecurity job openings alone have risen above 500,000. It also has been oft-criticized for not being more open to diverse pools of thought, which can deeply impact innovation.
What the field needs is an upheaval, or as one higher education academic leader notes, a “virtuous cycle” where consistent financial support and messaging support adult women and young girls of all races to jump in and embrace tech. Marni Baker-Stein, Chief Academic Officer and Provost at the highly creative, highly flexible Western Governors University, says until now that has been difficult to achieve.
“In both credentialing programs as well as in the workforce, they have been prevented from rising,” she says. “There are some systemic challenges around women and girls as early as elementary school moving into pathways that are math- and science-based, just because they are not encouraged to. We lack an infrastructure of encouragement for girls to move into STEM pathways from those earliest grades.”
But if that push continues to happen in K-12, where there has been a more cognizant embrace from school leaders, state and local agencies and philanthropy, higher education can level those barriers. WGU, for one, is putting an increased emphasis on supporting women who pursue STEM from the moment they sign on with abundant resources.
“There are some areas where we can really bear down in higher education,” Baker-Stein says. “Girls and women need context, training and development so they truly understand business and industry and the job role they’re interested in. And they need as much financial and wraparound aid and support services that allow, especially adult women.”
Continue reading: https://universitybusiness.com/can-higher-ed-rally-to-boost-the-number-of-women-of-color-in-tech-fields/
 

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