Before delving into why the role of women is crucial in STEM-related fields, let’s have a look at the current scenario. Internationally, women comprise only 30 percent of researchers in science, technology, and innovation. This shocking fact was revealed by UNESCO. We are considering it shocking because women make up around 50 percent of the world population.
Here, in India, only 14 percent women are part of STEM-related professions. Facts like these show why a lot of improvement is required. There are already various institutes focused on offering STEM education in Delhi and other regions of India.
As promised, we will now discuss why it is crucial for the girls to be a part of this ever-expanding realm. Almost every new invention is concerned with solving the problems of the society. When women are involved in something innovative, there is a huge possibility that their work will revolve around the issues faced by the females. Some examples to verify this fact are smartphone apps developed by ladies with an aptitude for technology. These apps include:
• Sweat with Kayla — It connects biggest female fitness community of the world.
• Cast Beauty — The girls get personal recommendations of products-based on their hair and skin type.
• bSafe — The friends and family of a girl are able to track her location through this app.
• Bumber — A dating app that allows only the ladies to send the first message
This is just a tiny aspect that verifies this factor. If you still have a doubt, let us tell you that the modern electric refrigerator was invented by Florence Parpart, a lady who got a patent for an enhanced model of street-cleaning machine. And, another woman with a scientific aptitude Josephine Cochrane invented the dishwasher, way back in 1887.
It might surprise you but principles behind the functioning of CDMA, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth technology have their roots in radio guidance system developed by Hollywood actress Hedy Lamarr. She took the support of author George Antheil in her research.
When we are talking about a workplace, a balance related to gender is beneficial in several ways. Different viewpoints and perspectives pave the way for the development of products that target a broad section of consumers. Earlier, the products designed to solve the common problems (not restricted to a gender) used to inadvertently exclude the female point-of-view. This issue is expected to be handled by encouraging more women in STEM education and career.
Traditionally, it is believed that girls don’t belong with the Science or Mathematics. To increase the participation of girls in this area, there are several things parents and teachers can try.
The very first thing you can do is let them interact with those who are already pursuing a career in this domain. By encouraging them to collaborate with individuals having similar interests, you can fuel up their passion for science and other similar areas.
Let them make the mistakes. Avoid pressurizing them to be a perfectionist. The careers in this field are mainly about problem-solving. And, it’s OK to commit errors. As Thomas Edison said “I haven’t failed. I have just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”
If we specifically talk about India, domestic prevent the girls from entering into this sector. The males, who are still the sole bread earner in the majority of the regions, are mainly seen to be working in tech fields.
This is why the focus should be more on awareness related to gender equality. Only then we can proceed to the further level.
The team at Neorobos encourages females from India to excel in different areas associated with the STEM. This is done by offering hands-on training through carefully-designed modules related to simple machines, programming, robotics, and even drones.
The curiosity related to various scientific domains is instilled with the use of activity sets like Mindstorm NXT from Lego. The benefits of these technical kits have already been published in Global Engineering Education Conference in 2014.
You can also connect with the team at Neorobos to learn more about how the trainers utilize these kits to simplify the learning process. Or, you can simply read about the training sessions being offered from here: http://neorobos.co.in/.