We must look to nurture, not nature, for change STEM Women on G+ publish their arguments on nature.com blogs .
Originally shared by STEM Women on G+
Nature vs. Nurture: Girls and STEM
Why is there a gender gap in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)? You may have heard the arguments that girls find science “boring,” that attempts to bridge the gender divide “deny human biology and nature,” and that efforts to achieve gender equality in STEM fields are doomed. Attributing the gender gap to biology misses the obvious contribution of societal and institutional biases. Our article in nature.com blogs explains how stereotype threats, lack of role models, social conditioning, unconscious bias and institutional practices create an environment where girls feel unwelcome and insecure in STEM fields.
Why should we care if girls remain underrepresented in STEM? Apart from basic fairness, if we want our best and brightest working on innovative ideas and creative solutions, it makes little sense to potentially abandon half the population. We already face many hurdles; lack of funding, lack of jobs, and pushback from science denialists backed by populist politics. We need all hands on deck to forge ahead.
We must look to nurture, not nature, for change.
Read more: http://blogs.nature.com/soapboxscience/2014/09/04/nature-vs-nurture-girls-and-stem
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Fregging awesome!
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I work in the plumbing industry – I love this!
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Not sure where the gender gap is. Someone should broaden the study or start over. Majority of girls in my biology class are girls, and most nurses are women.
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Christian Wibe makes you wonder who is actually complaining. If any woman has an issue, the doors are open for them. Nothing holding them back. There are certificate programs for only a couple grand, which compared to university tuition….thats nothing.
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Wasn’t the president of a famous university fired maybe 10 yrs ago for saying that women aren’t as capable as men in math and science?
Yep. I found it. The president of Harvard University, Lawrence H. Summers, sparked an uproar at an academic conference Friday when he said that innate differences between men and women might be one reason fewer women succeed in science and math careers.
Summers also questioned how much of a role discrimination plays in the dearth of female professors in science and engineering at
elite universities.
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Christian Wibe and Jer – bo clearly you have not read the article in the link to note the evidence based studies showing that women are actively discriminated against, subjected to negative stereotypes and sexism in their STEM fields. You are making unsubstantiated comments based on your personal opinions. Note that we have a zero tolerance policy towards sexism in this community.
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Science on Google+ clearly you did not read my comment properly nor read the article in relation to the comment. Siting an article using only the late 1950’s as a specific reference study, does not pertain to current STEM jobs nor graduate percentages at colleges and universities. What I state are not opinions, but based on observational fact from social interaction to occupational sightings. Im not exactly sure where your final comment fits, but due to you tone, you lost a follower.
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Jer – bo if you are referring to the DAST study, it has been followed for 50 years as explained in the article. Your “observational facts” are not equivalent to a rigorously controlled study.
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