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Women in the STEM Field

In my essay, I'll explain why there are so few women in STEM fields. Men outnumber

women in STEM fields on average, but women are becoming more prominent in STEM fields

(science, technology, engineering, and math). Some argue, however, that increasing the number

of women in STEM fields may result in a hostile working environment because of social

prejudices against women. As a result, there needs to be a greater representation of women in

STEM careers and STEM leadership positions. Furthermore, more women in STEM will help to

close the gender pay gap, and we need more women in STEM in general.

Many people stereotype women. According to Professor Blakemore, he claims to have

identified over 100 toys and categorized them to show how much each toy was related to males,

females, or neither. In general, toys for boys were more closely associated with violence or

aggression (wrestlers, soldiers, guns, etc.), while toys for girls were more closely associated with

beauty (Barbie dolls and accessories, ballerina costumes, makeup, jewelry, etc.). This study

implies that boys will go into STEM and women won't choose to be in the STEM field, for

example, because men can be more aggressive. Women, on the other hand, are weaker than men,

implying a biological difference between the sexes. Rosalind Barrett and Caryl Rivers (238)

claim that these studies have been proven to be inconsistent and faulty time and time again. They

state, "We have been researching issues of gender and STEM for more than 25 years." We can
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say flatly that there is no evidence that women's biology makes them incapable of performing at

the highest levels of any STEM field. sexist and won't accept a woman in STEM.

In addition to women being stereotypically outnumbered by men in the STEM field, this

causes a toxic work environment for women in STEM fields due to the biases in the workplace.

As Barnett and Rivers state (239–240), according to studies, competent men are perceived as

likeable, whereas competent women are perceived as bitchy. Women also receive more credit for

their successes than men do. Men are frequently promoted based on charisma, while women are

elevated purely on the basis of performance. Another regrettable reality is that in environments

where men predominate, women are more likely to experience sexual harassment. According to

Dr. Pragya Agarwal, the survey showed that half of women (49%) have experienced some form

of discrimination in the workplace, and a fifth (20%) have resigned in the past because of

discrimination or harassment in the workplace. One of the reasons in this survey that women are

discriminated against is that women who are mothers get discriminated against after they come

back, if they weren't already discriminated against.

Women have started to break away from stereotypical jobs to break away from the bias.

They are beginning to establish themselves in the STEM fields; for now, they are open to both

men and women. In the last few decades, women have been working in the STEM fields and

have been flourishing because they bring a different set of skills than a man in the STEM field

and tend to have more ideas and make them heard. Furthermore, the greater the number of

women in STEM fields, the slower the infamous pay gap will widen and become narrower over

time.
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One possible compromise is to place women in STEM leadership positions to help

eliminate issues of bias and hostile working environments. Promoting a support system in the

STEM field will encourage and support female students throughout their academic careers.

According to Karen D. Purcell, P.E. in her article, we have fallen behind in encouraging women

to consider the possibilities of the STEM Field and must do so. Another thing we can do is have

young girls team up with a mentor, which is a career strategy that can bring huge benefits,

especially to women in unbalanced work environments like engineering.

Inconclusion, both students and colleges will gain from the large and growing STEM

area. Women's stereotypes exist, but it doesn't mean they're accurate. The gender pay gap may be

reduced because to the distinctive perspectives and solutions offered by women in STEM

professions. Future STEM women will learn more effectively if there are more women in

leadership roles in the STEM fields and if there are stricter workplace and academic regulations.

Eliminating the unfair assumptions connected with being a woman will enable us to give our

young women the best opportunities to pursue any vocation they want.
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Works Cited

“What the Research Says: Gender-Typed Toys.” NAEYC,

https://www.naeyc.org/resources/topics/play/gender-typed-toys. Accessed 9 Nov. 2022.

Barnett, Rosalind C, Rivers, Caryl. "We've Studied Gender and STEM for 25 Years. The

Science Doesn't Support the Google Memo" Practical Argument: Short Fourth Edition,

Bedford/St. Martin's, 2019, pp. 237-241.

Agarwal, Dr Pragya. “Gender Bias In STEM: Women In Tech Still Facing

Discrimination.” Forbes,

https://www.forbes.com/sites/pragyaagarwaleurope/2020/03/04/gender-bias-in-stem-women-in-

tech-report-facing-discrimination/. Accessed 9 Nov. 2022.

“5 Ways to Get Girls into STEM.” Edutopia, https://www.edutopia.org/blog/5-ways-

girls-involved-STEM-karen-purcell. Accessed 9 Nov. 2022.

Author’s note

1. What type of argument is your essay? Rogerian or Toulmin? Rogerian

2. What are some areas in this draft you need to work on? I need to work on the conclusion

I believe and grammar and anything that looks out of place or hard to understand.

3. What are some things working well, so far? I think the body paragraphs are good but

could some help possibly

4. What do you hope audiences understand about this subject/essay? (**NOTE** type

author's note after your draft and upload on same document). I hope they take

away that there should be more women in STEM.

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