When I was in high school, I attended a small seminar in the school cafeteria for kids interested in engineering. I was the lone female.
When I arrived on my college campus four years later, the engineering and medical schools were teeming with female students. My closest friends were working in labs and out in the field - collecting data, studying variants and moving science, and our female role in it, forward.
So where have all those gals gone? Studies say women have moved away from tech fields in recent years.
A study last year from the National Science Foundation shows a staggering drop in the number of women who chose to study computer science in the last 30 years. According to the study, in 1984, women accounted for 40 percent of computer science majors. In 2014, that number dropped to 18 percent.
Why?
CNN suggests that the field is considered boring, too male dominated, and a place where women are still regarded as foreign rather than part of the team. Read the full article here: http://www.cnn.com/2015/07/31/tech/women-computer-science-halt-catch-fire-feat/index.html
Mommas, let your babies grow up to be engineers, computer programmers and software developers. Technology-based careers are some of the fastest growing fields in the nation. Jobs are plentiful, the pay is outstanding and employers have a really hard time filling a lot of these slots. There are simply not enough talented professionals to take on these tasks.
Don't believe me? Check out the stats from the U.S. Bureau of Labor: http://www.bls.gov/ooh/computer-and-information-technology/home.htm
And if you are looking for a second career, this is your chance to enter a field that needs dedicated professionals.
Girls can compete. Girls can excel. Girls can be a force in technology. We just have to remind them that they can and give them the confidence and the tools to excel.
When your daughter signs up for after school activities this year, suggest the science club and then be there to support those awesome kids. Get excited about the science fair. On your next family vacation, make visiting the science center a priority.
You never know when you may light the spark that changes the world.
