Why Diversity matters to STEM

Hello World!

So you know that diversity is awesome, but what does it have to with STEM? Women make up half the population of the world; they use social media at greater rates than men, yet are underrepresented in STEM. The good news is that women are in a moment of opportunity. According to Women in Government, the current STEM workforce is 75% male, and is nearing retirement “creating policy space to make changes in the demographics of the STEM workforce”. While there are many inclusive men and allies of all varieties in the STEM workforce, it is easy to fall into the same pattern and “not know what you don’t know”. Consider the cost of ignoring half the population and their unique perspectives. There is lost business, lost opportunities, and the cost of creating solutions that may cause more problems because they were one sided, not to mention the human cost of exclusion. Conversely, creativity is increased, solutions are more innovative, and profits are higher when diversity is embraced (Stevens, Plaut, Sanchez-Burks, 2008). Simply put, diversity makes STEM stronger. Journalist Jonathon Mealer believes that “the next Einstein will come from the African continent”, I think the next Einstein will also be a woman :) For more resources check out http://www.begellhouse.com/journals/journal-of-women-and-minorities-in-science-and-engineering.html