How do we support and sustain girls’ interest in science and technology?

Question

Two-thirds of young girls are interested in science & math. What factors cause so many to drift away from those subjects as they get older?

Y! Answers Staff Note: This is the real Sally Ride, find out more:
http://blog.360.yahoo.com/blog-d8pH0dcoRKeB12yOcnUQp.9VCFos?p=12689

All the responses were thoughtful, but Lauren L.’s response gets my vote as the best answer to my question about the dearth of young women choosing science for study and career. Her answer was most complete and insightful. As Lauren highlights, it is particularly important to acknowledge that we all -- parents, teachers, government and private industry -- share a joint responsibility to encourage both girls and boys in math, science and technology. This is my commitment at Sally Ride Science.

Thanks to all of you who participated and contributed your ideas to this forum. Awareness is the first step of thoughtful action!

Answer 1

I have to agree with the theory that the reason so many girls get out of enjoying science and technology is the lack of role models -- the lack of women who have thrived in those fields so young women can say, "Wow. She did it. I can do it, too."

I work at a health science center in Texas. One of the most amazing programs I have seen here are the outreach programs. The ones here are designed to target underrepresented minorities in the health and biomedical sciences, but I feel the model could be used effectively for women as well.

The concept of the program is simple, really -- send minority students and scientists into public school classrooms to not only show the students how fun and exciting science can be, but also show them that someone who looks like them, has the same background as them, etc., who has been successful in that field.

The outreach programs here include programs which bring minority undergrad students to our graduate facility over the summer to take classes, attend lectures and work in our labs -- again with the same goal as mentioned above, but also in an effort to facilitate their transition from undergrad science degrees to graduate school. Many of the students who go through these programs and return here for graduate studies volunteer to participate as a grad student and mentor public school and undergrad students.

I think the same program could be tailored for girls and young women -- take women who are excited by science and technology and have succeeded in the fields and have them serve as role models and mentors to young women who are interested in science.

Answer 2

There are a lot of really good answers here, some which really resonate with me as an female undergraduate student in electrical engineering and computer science at berkeley. I find that a lot of people promote the idea of have more role models or mentors, or programs where students have mentors. Personally, I don't think it would be enough of a solution because its effectiveness would be entirely dependant on either the strength of the program or each individual girl's active participation. It's an easy way to throw money into something that sounds nice, but in the end there are no guaranteed results.

Curriculum and teaching strategy plays a big role in both high school and college education. A bad teacher can have a negative impact on both genders, but there is also a deeper problem with the curriculum itself. My favorite classes were the ones which allowed me to gain an appreciation for the material with respect for how it affects our daily lives. I think a lot of the material typically used, as well as the problem sets given, cater towards subjects that boys are more likely to be interested in.

Another factor is the isolation. If you're shy, or just not very outspoken, it's really easy to get lost and not find your way back out. You think to yourself, everyone else already knows so much more, all these guys already no so much about the material - how can I compete?

Answer 3

I think a problem is that girls and boys get discouraged from entering those kinds of fields because the lack of opportunity.
I am entering into the world of Anthropology and Archeology and while that is not a physical science, but more of a social one, I continue to hear horror stories about people with high degrees working in Insurance offices and other jobs outside their field. When I do come across people in the field, they don't make a whole lot of money.
Science in any form has to be a labor of love. I am not in it for the money. If I were, I'd be an accountant.
I think if more parents encouraged their children in these feilds, it would be helpful. But most parents don't. Mine didn't because there is no money in it. Others don't because they are afraid of their kids being way smarter than them.
It's hard to say what would keep an interest in a child. Back in the day, there were all these new discoveries and scientist heros that kids could look up to. Quite like you. But now the heros are gone, or more over they don't get that kind of exposure anymore. The media is full of misery and hollywood. It doens't make interesting news to tell about the latest space exploration. The most I see covered is if NASA delays or makes a mistake. If things go smoothly, I don't hear about it.
I listen to a really great show called "This Week in Science". It is informative and funny. It's a Podcast or MP3 download from www.twis.org
If the media put the focus back on science and less on other people's misery, science might have a fighting chance!
Thanks for being a hero!

Answer 4

Well I think the attitude of "I will never use this" is a big factor. If something seems hard and if the role models that they look up to don't seem to be using Math and technology then they have the attitude of why study this I won't need it. That Out come based eduction movement that was going around a while back was the wordt thing that could have happened. I also have to agree with the sentiments of role modela dn social status. I was raised with " A young lady doesn't think like that..... Dopn't be TOO smart or you will never get a man. and so on ......

I can't say that I love math but I do think that I could have an apptitude for it ( better than my spelling and typing LOL)_ if it had been encoruaged.

I am older now and have 3 boys. My oldest can do math and science in his sleep and yet he gets bad grade in school because it does not hold his interset as much as a stupid video game. May be school should be more like a video game quest and you have to do mathe and science in the game to win.

Answer 5

By not forcing that interest; not every girl is you, Ms. Ride. Science and math are highly competitive and men will go to greater risk for there goals, even if these goals are pedantic. Perhaps, same sex education of girls would be a help, though,sooner, or later, they would have to compete in the real world with men. Remember, we are speaking of populations and two normal curves not having the same mean, though great overlap. In my own Field, evolutionary biology, there is parity. In engineering, say, only about six percent of working professionals are female. Are we to believe that engineers are more biased than biologist? And if they are, is the reason some arbitrary construct that exists only in a social scientist head? I think the reasons are real and evolved. I think you know what main factor is, that causes girls to drift away from these subjects as they get older. Again, not all these girls are you, Ms. Ride. A significant proportion will give greater weight to raising a family, for obvious evolved reasons. No one should be forced to do what they do not want to, so the number of girls will rise; I just hope people such as you will be satisfied with a result that does not meet your preconceptions.

PS Personally, I admire you very much.

Answer 6

I think the main thing as that the deeper you go into any subject, the more boring it will get. And also, it has quite a bit to do with the people teaching each subject. In middle school, I had a great science teacher, and I continued having great science teachers throughout high school, they made the learning fun, and gave us fun projects to try every few weeks. Math is a bit harder to make fun, about the only way to keep someone's interest in it is to have interesting in some way or another, and having a boring math teacher doesn't help.

I suppose one of the reason young girls tend to drift away from these subjects is that they believe that many guys out there won't like them if they think they are in any way shape or form intelligent. While it is not the case, nobody has done anything to stop them from thinking such things. They see celebs like Jessica Simpson who really show no signs of intelligence at all, being rich and famous and having all kinds of males drooling over her. I mean come on, I would never date a girl who had troubles understanding why her tuna is called chicken of the sea.

I guess it isn't much in the way of an answer, and more a rant on boring teachers and celebrities lacking in the intelligence department, but I gave it a shot.

Answer 7

Hey Sally, I applaud you for this.

The problem, essentially, is biology. In our culture, women are compelled to focus on appearance in order to attract a mate so they can have children while they are young. Men may appreciate an intelligent women, but the bottom line is, they are first attracted by what they see. Societal pressures don't explain everything, but they certainly account for a lot. By puberty, most every girl I ever knew was focused on dating, clothes, makeup, hair, nails and all that nonsense. I grew up with two very attractive sisters, both of whom are every bit as intelligent as I am, and they both forwent careers to get married and raise kids. One is now a stay at home mom, and the other became a cop.

By contrast, my brother graduated with a 4 year degree in graphic design, and I have nine years of higher education under my belt, have owned two businesses, and currently own a design firm.

Ya know, I'd give anything if you'd just hop over to the Society and Culture section and ask Tyra Banks to answer this question. She, and those like her, are the exact reason WHY women lose interest in becoming learned.

Answer 8

I have known many women in the fields of science and math. I have a Masters in Computer Science and I am here to tell you that some of the most brilliant minds I have worked with, and professors I have enjoyed, have been women.
I don't actually think that women somehow become uninterested in a science or math career, I just believe that, at some point, math and science become very abstract disciplines, and that only the most abstract thinkers are able to succeed.
I have noticed that men seem to think more spatially than woman, which gives them the ability to comprehend the applications of math and phyisics, as they apply to the world we live in.
On the other hand, experience has also taught me that woman are multi-taskers and men are not. Math and science both involve distinct problems with distinct solutions. This is a very comfortable environment for a man, but often boring for a women. Women want to be involved in many aspects of the game, it is what makes us dynamic, it is what makes us tick.
Man has problem, man solves problem, man beats chest.
How do we get women more involved in these areas? I don't really know, I am not sure that we have to, they are doing quite well in the areas where they are now. However, if you want to excite a woman about a project, don't give her a piece, involve her in the big picture - you won't ever be sorry.

Answer 9

When I was in school (early mesozoic era) I took a summer school course every year. I lucked out and had an amzing science teacher who offered, meteorology, Earth science and geology in the summers. The classes were smaller and more casual than the regular school year offerings. I found that what I learned over the summer supported and enhanced what I was learning in anthropology, social studies, history and other topics that touched on events that have changed the world as we know it.

If I were Bill Gates, I would fund a series of learning camps in really cool places, like National Parks or other areas where girls could do hands on science in a casual setting. I'd have actual scientists and other people like YOU (!) that would be teacher for this one or two week adventure and I would have the kids create, explore, invent or build something during their sessions. Filming this and making it a PBS special or some other way to get the film out to girls in schools would encourage other girls who have an interest in science and technology to apply for one of the camps. Make scholarships available for those who can't afford the tuition and make it the BIG DEAL that it actually is! Celebrate the camps, advertise them, get some marketing power behind them so girls know they exist.

You also need a TV show where a young girl lead character is a science and technology buff and she's cool (like a Veronica Mars character only she's younger and more hands on with science), or even a feature movie with a character like that who does something amazing that helps save the world.

Here's the joke...all the cool kids have techie things like iPods and cell phones and laptops and text message capability, but how many of these same kids could explain what they are using or improve the product with suggestions based on investigative measures? Now THERE'S a summer camp project...

We have to offer girls fun, interactive and techno cool stuff to do when they are young (by 11) and keep offering things all the way up to college. It's the only way to help them jump the gap that opens up at puberty when too many girls abandon their microscope set for a can of Slim Fast.

Answer 10

That is an excellent question, Ms. Ride, and since I am a high school girl interested in biology I will try to answer your question.
To get a girl interested in science and technology, she has to find a particular science that she is interested in, or you can't expect her to go on at all. For example, I HATED science and math all through school, because I had to take physical science (twice because I moved) and the sociological sciences. Then I found biology, and I absolutely love it. I still hate math, though, so I can't help you with that :) And you have to see if they can go on with these classes and develop their interest even further so that by the time they get to college, they may very well might want to continue with that particular science. The key is reinforcements over and over. Another factor I think is that quite a few people in science and technology are men, and girls don't really want to work with a completely male work force. That scares quite a few away. And their friends are yet another factor, if they aren't interested at all in the sciences. But if they really love what they're doing, that shouldn't matter.
I really hope this helps you, and good luck getting to all those girls!!! :)

Answer 11

How about we support and sustain all of children's interests in science and technology? Are we talking about just American students? Did you see the episode on 20/20 entitled "Stupid in America?'
excerpt: "The longer kids stay in American schools, the worse they do in international competition. They do worse than kids from poorer countries that spend much less money on education, ranking behind not only Belgium but also Poland, the Czech Republic and South Korea"
What is wrong with this picture??? I am fortunate that my 13 year old daughter is going to a good public school in Washington State. The teachers there care about their students and it's a total 'can-do' attitude- bless their hearts. If only we could say this for each and every school. the "no child left behind" act is a complete joke.
We need more money in our schools and excellent teachers. I believe it was in Belgium where if the teachers weren't doing their job well, they wouldn't be able to keep their jobs. There are too many cracks in the systems and not enough support. Perhaps if communities were more involved? Let's look at success stories and start having schools copy good, working systems that are in place. Get Bill Nye type of people in the classroom. Make the teachers attend workshops to keep up skills. If they aren't doing their job, replace them. Give teachers a better salary. It's insane the money what sports figures make. That should be the kind of salaries teachers get!
I have no clue the solution to your question. I only know that with a lot of minds putting forth good ideas there should be some kind of good solution. Then acting upon it would be so nice.

I'd also like to say that I'm proud of your accomplishments!:)

www.sensationalsunshine.com (my 13 year old daughter's website- and she does like her science and math, too! This year, we have a great math instructor who really walks through problems and teaches the kids shortcuts, too)