The Economics of Gender Equality: Why We All Need Women in STEM

by General Assembly
November 1, 2016
 
 
By Eva Bloomfield
 
Young boys have consistently grown up with a myriad of role models around them, shaping their ambitions and ideas of their future selves. They are met with visions of leadership, confidence, and innovation. From Albert Einstein and Thomas Edison to Steve Jobs and Elon Musk—there has been no shortage of male engineers, scientists, mathematicians, technologists, entrepreneurs, and inventors for little boys to look up to. But what about the women?
 
As most girls get older, they feel an added pressure to adopt traits and gravitate toward the subscribed “feminine.” Somewhere along the way, math and science was assigned to the masculine end of the spectrum. When and where that exact societal determination took place is a subject for another discussion. 
 
At first glance, the lack of encouragement and support for women currently in STEM careers and future generations is an issue of gender equality. And, to be sure, it is. But it doesn’t stop there. Having women in these fields is vital to the economy. Tech continues to be a booming industry, and there’s no end in sight for needing scientists, mathematicians, and engineers. Few would argue that such industries are not crucial to economic growth and, currently, the supply of skilled STEM workers is weaker than the demand.
 
By not investing in the support and interest of female students—who might one day contribute innovative ideas and products—we are overlooking a massive talent pool, hurting our competitive edge on a global scale. Furthermore, STEM is lucrative; women in STEM jobs make an average of 33% more than those in non-STEM jobs. Women win. The economy wins. We all win.
 
The paradigm has begun to shift as people around the world continue to amplify the issue and to demonstrate women’s contributions to these industries in the public sphere. The social media movement #ILookLikeAnEngineer has helped to shatter the stereotype of an engineer, highlighting diversity within the field.
 
Groups are motivating female-led innovation through scholarships and competitions. General Assembly’s Opportunity Fund is awarding women and minorities with scholarships to support their futures as tech innovators while the global competition Technovation Challenge encourages female students to design a mobile app to solve a real problem in their community using coding and entrepreneurial skills. Other organizations—Girls Who Code, Made With Code and Black Girls Code to name a few—are also spearheading this cultural revolution to value and support our girls in STEM, both in school and in the workforce.
 
Learn more about how we’re trying to level the playing field in tech Denver.  Join SpotX and General Assembly Denver for a screening of “Dream, Girl” and a discussion on ‘Women in Tech.’  RSVP to save your seat. 

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