Minorities in S.T.E.M.

What are the recent statistics of minorities in STEM, and why should you care?

Its 2018 and the STEM work force is finally at a place that will highlight all races, genders and everyone in between! Yaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyy! The STEM field has finally gotten it right! WRONG!!!!! That's what I wish that I can tell you, but I can't. The STEM field is no where near where we should be to have every race and gender equally represented. Since we don't, what message do you feel is being sent to our youth? Our babies who are bright eyed and bushy tailed, who are searching for a role model to mimic instead of the person who just went viral, doing something ridiculous stupid and will probably regret it for the rest of their lives.

Our kids need to see more of the people that look like them as doctors, astronauts, chemist, engineers, mechanics, accountants, investment analyst...well that last one sounds a little boring but you get the point. You would think that all of us would be represented equally, but we aren't. In a recent article that I read called "5 Numbers That Explain Why STEM Diversity Matters to All of Us" talked about how important it is for us to bridge these gaps. The article stated that there will be an estimated size of 8,650,000 people in the STEM workforce by 2018! That means STEM jobs statistically are growing faster than any other in the United States and is also estimated to increase 7% by 2024. Thats a train, I think you and your kids want to be on.

Another powerful number listed in the article was that there was a 12% decrease in the number of women earning a computer science degree in the United States since 1991. That's absolultey crazy and its hard to believe, especially since research has shown that millennial women are more educated than men. Yikes! The last alarming number listed in the article was the annual salary gap between men and women in professional STEM related jobs in the US. Can you believe the gap is estimated to be $15,900 a year? Do you know what I could do with $15,000 more a year!!! Whew... clutches purse!

There were two other number listed in the article but I felt that these three stuck out to me the most to explain to you why minorities in STEM really matters to all of us. Better jobs, more diverse working environments, and more money, needs to be topics of conversations with all of us, especially our little future leaders! Think about it...

All statistical data, and numbers referenced in this blog can be found via the article link below.

Related article https://www.wired.com/brandlab/2015/05/5-numbers-explain-stem-diversity-matters-us/

#minoritiesinstem #STEM #science #technology #engineering #math #womeninstem #diversity #inclusion #computerscience #salarygap #stemworkforce