The numbers are shocking: women make up less than 25%of the STEM (science-technology-engineering-mathematics) workforce in the USA. Even if recent years have seen an increase, the numbers are still not representative of wider population.
Why does this under-representation of women matter? Research shows diverse teams perform better. Individuals from different genders, races, backgrounds and experiences bring different perspectives that can lead to creative solutions. Given the changes being brought on by the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), we can't afford not to have all hands involved.
STEM fields are key to obtain the rewards of 4IR, but STEM fields are also key to dealing with the revolution's potential downsides, such as climate change, Internet-related war and the reorientation (再定位) of job sectors. So it is essential that women obtain the benefits and get involved in finding solutions.
However, why do women and girls participate in STEM fields at lower rates? Studies show that it is not an ability issue. Marian Wright, a children's rights activist, stated clearly," You can't be what you can't see. "When asked to draw a scientist, most students draw a white man in a lab coat. The great majority of portrayals of scientists and engineers in movies and television shows have been men.
But as awareness of the problem has grown, portrayals of women scientists and engineers in the media have begun to change. The success of movies like Hidden Figures, which tells the story of several African American women, working in engineering and mathematics, helped put the first humans into space, enables girls to not only see what women have already contributed, but to see themselves in that role.
4IR is changing the way we receive information, how we process it, how we work and what jobs we will do. It is happening at an unprecedented (前所未有的)pace. Because of this, we simply cannot afford to have any less than our whole population engaged and contributing. The historical focus of STEM courses at university and communities on weeding out students drove away women; now we need to focus on how to include everyone.
