By YKA Staff:
According to the Bureau of Labour Statistics, women increasingly outnumber men in college graduation rates, yet they make up only a quarter of the tech industry workforce. The reason for women for not taking up Science, Technology, Engineering and Management (STEM) subjects in college are many, of which social discrimination is one of the major reasons. [envoke_twitter_link]The STEM fields have predominantly been a male sphere[/envoke_twitter_link], and pervasive misconceptions that women have a ‘natural’ leaning towards the liberal arts and disinclination towards math and science, dissuades parents from encouraging them to challenge societal norms and pursue a career in these fields. The fact that these fields are a ‘boys club‘ makes it even more difficult for women to pursue professions in these traditionally ‘male-dominated’ fields.
There has been some positive change, and studies reveal that women teaching college-level computer science or engineering has actually increased since 2005. But the number of women as full-time computer science professors has barely moved since 2004- increasing by just three percentage points. Hostile workplaces, a sexist sphere where professions like programming is considered ‘brogramming’ where women don’t fit in, is still a reality. [envoke_twitter_link]Women are as capable as men in studying science and these male-dominated spaces need to be reclaimed[/envoke_twitter_link]
