Women in STEM today

What you'll need

• Nomination for ambassador in STEM student handout, one copy per student
• Individual whiteboards or paper and pen, one per group of 4-5 students
• Access to computers or tablets and internet for research, one per pair (or individually)
• A timer

Introduction

Start the activity by having a class discussion about women like Ada Lovelace and Mary Jackson who contributed to STEM fields throughout history. We recommend completing the previous activities in this unit.

What do the numbers say?

1. Begin by asking students if they think women have equal opportunity in STEM today. Ask students to share their ideas. Perhaps they can think of careers where there are more women like the medical field and others like engineering where there are still inequities.
   
   
2. Play a game to reveal some of the realities of women in STEM today, using the following steps.
   
   
3. Start by writing the following numbers on the board in a grid pattern, as shown:
   
   

   44	27	22	2
   15	12	47	33

   
   
4. Put students into groups of 4-5 and distribute a whiteboard or paper to each group. Tell students you will ask a question and set a timer for 30 seconds. During this time students can discuss the answer choosing one of the numbers on the board. When the timer goes off have students write and hold up their answer.
   
   
5. Each of these numbers is a percentage so explain this to students before beginning the game. A percentage (%) is a number that represents a fraction of 100. Women represent about 50% of the population, which is 50/100 or ½ (half).
   
   
6. Read the following questions, reveal the answer and assign each group with the correct answer one point per question. 
   1. Percentage of people working in STEM in Canada who are women (answer: 27%)
   2. Percentage of people working in artificial intelligence who are women (answer: 22%)
   3. Percentage of researchers, globally, who are women (answer: 33%)
   4. Percentage of female PhD graduates worldwide in 2018 (answer: 44%)
   5. Percentage of funding directed to start-ups founded by women in 2019 (answer: 2%)
   6. Percentage of the workforce in Canada that are women (answer: 47%)
   7. Percentage of management roles filled by women in STEM (answer: 15%)
      
      
7. The group with the most points at the end wins the game.
   
   
8. Debrief the game and ask students if any of the numbers surprised them. Explain that if only 2% of funding was directed to start-ups founded by women this means 98% (nearly all) of funding was directed to start-ups founded by men. Similarly, if 15% of management roles are filled by women in STEM this means 85% of management roles are filled by men. However nearly half (44%) of the population were female PhD graduates worldwide in 2018 so intelligence and capability are not in question.
   
   
9. Ask students why they think there is such a gap in women working in STEM. What has happened in the past, and what happens today? Some things to consider:
   • Education: In the past and in some cultures today girls were not given the same educational opportunities as boys. Historically they were barred from universities or associations, left out of jobs or the credit for their work was taken by male co-workers or supervisors. Black women and other women of colour faced even more barriers to education due to segregation, discrimination, financial barriers and other inequities. What can we do to change this?
   • Stereotypes: Many individuals might still associate STEM fields with masculine qualities which can be discouraging to some girls. What can we do to change this?
   • Work environment: Many workplaces are male-dominated environments and have a lack of women role models and this could contribute to women not entering or leaving STEM jobs.  What can we do to change this?
   • Networking and community: Since many STEM jobs are historically male-dominated, it could be challenging for girls and women to find supportive networks. What can we do to change this?
     
     
10. Invite students to share their experiences. Have they ever been told they should like or do something because they are a boy or a girl, maybe in a sport or other activity? How did that make them feel? Have they seen adult men or women doing jobs or activities that other people might think are just for the opposite gender? Consider careers like nursing, electrician, computer programmer, stay at home parent, fire fighter or car mechanic.  
    
    

Role models in STEM

1. Provide each student with a copy of the Nomination for ambassador in STEM student handout and each pair of students (or individually) with a device for internet access.
   
   
2. Direct students to the STEMforGIRLS site, a Canadian website that features female role models working in STEM fields. It is inspiring for boys and girls to explore both the different careers featured, some they may not know exist, and the women working in these fields.
   
   
3. Encourage students to use the search tags at the bottom of the page to find someone in a field they are interested in or to find someone that reminds them of themselves or their families and friends. For example, they might look for someone who is Indigenous, living with disabilities, neurodiverse, working in fields like energy or science or doing a job with hands-on activities.
   
   
4. After spending some time exploring the site invite students to pick one person to nominate for ‘ambassador of the year in STEM” who inspires them. Using the Nomination for ambassador in STEM student handout complete the information on the handout to make a compelling nomination. Alternatively, students could create a social media post to nominate their ambassador choice.
   
   

Have students present their nominations for ambassador to the class and have the class vote for their top choices.