Closing the STEM diversity gap starts young
How Corlis Murray fights to create space for young women and minorities in the world of STEM.
In Corlis Murray’s recent LinkedIn article “I’m an African-American, Female Head of Engineering: We Can (and Must) Fix the STEM Gap”, she shares how a high school engineering internship with IBM changed the trajectory of her life when she was 17; now as Senior Vice President of Quality, Regulatory and Engineering Services at Abbott — her passion is to bring the world of STEM to young women and minorities.
Here are some of insightful pieces from her article:
“As one of very few African-American female engineers, I have an obligation to do something to help close a real gap of women and minorities in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields. It’s good for our company and its future, but it’s also just the right thing to do for society and the future of innovation.
A lack of diverse perspectives means the teams creating the next life-changing technologies in our societies are not as equipped as they otherwise would be. How can we innovate for a diverse world if we don’t have diverse innovators?
The reason STEM recruitment and retention is broken when it comes to attracting and holding on to women and minorities, I believe, is they don’t see enough people who look like them in their fields, a signal to them that maybe this field isn’t for them — maybe they weren’t meant to succeed here.
To be sure, the fix to that is complicated. But one thing parents, schools and companies need to do is invest in these young people early, so they see STEM as a viable career option.”
Read Murray’s full article here.
