Thanks in part to our technology-dependent lives and our country’s economic woes, the demand for graduates with an understanding of math, science, and engineering is exploding.
Someone has to create all those lightening-fast Web applications, or arbitrate Wall Street’s complex investment structures.
No longer the playground of the ubernerdy, STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) is tres chic. In a more modern twist, today’s technology and engineering aficionados are responsible for building social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter, and math experts are working as CFOs at Fortune 1000 companies.
There’s just one problem: African American and female students aren’t entering the educational fields necessary to fill the void.
“The numbers are really low,†said Jordan Lloyd Bookey, global diversity and talent inclusions manager at Google who also heads the company’s STEM kindergarten-12th grade programs. “One of the major factors is when they look around the classroom, they don’t see too many people who look like them.â€
According to data from the Science and Engineering Indicators, African Americans received just 8.8% of the bachelor’s degrees in STEM fields in 2005. In comparison, white students made up 67% of the STEM bachelor’s granted.
The numbers for girls aren’t much to brag about either. Females earn 28% of computer science degrees, 20% of engineering degrees, and 40% of mathematics degrees.
Black and Latino students at four-year colleges enter with the same level of commitment to pursue STEM fields. They’re just not as well equipped. Many come from lower-income areas and attend high schools that don’t offer higher-level math and science courses, which are essential for students to succeed at the university level and beyond.
By their junior year, most have switched majors, according to a study by the American Council on Education. The theory about why women shy away from STEM fields varies, but the general consensus is that at some point, gender politics got in the way and they believed math wasn’t their strong suit.
Bookey and a group of African American employees at Google felt compelled to establish recruitment programs aimed at female and minority high school and college students. They call themselves the Black Googlers Network, and their goal is to create a pipeline of co-eds interested in science and technology.
The group does outreach at historically black colleges and universities, takes part in Google’s yearly Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day, and holds functions alongside the National Association of Black MBAs to reverse the statistics and “demystify what the industry is all about,†says Stacy Brown-Philpot, Google’s director of consumer operations and head of the BGN.
“At Google, we’re idea-driven,†Brown-Philpot added. “The best ones sometimes happen from the bottom up.â€
If the job boards are any indication, it’s evident that the U.S. is quickly becoming a STEM-based economy.
Nationally, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that more than 300,000 technology-related jobs remain unfilled for lack of qualified workers. The president understands the critical role science will play in sustaining our
nation. Earlier this week, he announced his President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, a group of the nation’s leading scientists and engineers who will advise the administration and help formulate policy.“Most people think they need to obtain a master’s or a Ph.D, but STEM learning provides the foundation for most career paths, including advanced manufacturing jobs–people who will fix your car,†says Mel Schiavelli, president of the Harrisburg University of Science and Technology in Pennsylvania, a private science-and-technology focused University.
“We see the tide changing, and people are beginning to understand why they need know algebra, regardless of what job they want. When I was a kid, science and math were good things to study, but all of sudden, when my kids grew up, it wasn’t cool for girls to be good at math. And that is doubly problematic for African American and Latinos.â€
To make STEM subjects relevant to underserved communities, Microsoft partnered with the School District of Philadelphia two years ago to open the School of the Future, an innovative, technology-rich high school with digital lockers and an interactive learning center and library, in the working-class neighborhood of West Philly.
Like Google, the company also hosts a program that works to dispel gender stereotypes in the high-tech industry. During its DigiGirlz Day, female students are pared with women executives at the company who introduce them to engineering and technology.
“Technology has to be a right, not a privilege, and we’re preparing students with 21st century skills.†said Anthony Salcito, general manager of U.S. education on behalf of Microsoft. “We want to ignite careers. We want to inspire students to impact the world. Innovation drives the course of our economy, and we believe the hope for America lies in the work of these students.â€
Resources
Women in Engineering
The largest international professional organization dedicated to promoting women engineers and scientists.
Coalition for Science After School
National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering