Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Women in the STEM Workforce

  • 10/01/18

The National Girls Collaborative Project (NGCP, www.ngcproject.org) offers many resources to strengthen networks and advance science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education for girls and women at all levels of education. The NGCP provides statistics on the role of women and girls in STEM careers and education pathways.

According to their statistics, women remain underrepresented in the science and engineering workforce, although to a lesser degree than in the past, with the greatest disparities occurring in engineering, computer science, and the physical sciences.

  • Women make up half of the total U.S. college-educated workforce, but only 29 percent of the science and engineering workforce.
  • Female scientists and engineers are concentrated in different occupations than are men, with relatively high shares of women in the social sciences (62 percent) and biological, agricultural, and environmental life sciences (48 percent), and relatively low shares in engineering (15 percent) and computer and mathematical sciences (25 percent). For example:
    • 35.2 percent of chemists are women;
    • 11.1 percent of physicists and astronomers are women;
    • 33.8 percent of environmental engineers are women;
    • 22.7 percent of chemical engineers are women;
    • 17.5 percent of civil, architectural, and sanitary engineers are women;
    • 17.1 percent of industrial engineers are women;
    • 10.7 percent of electrical or computer hardware engineers are women; and
    • 7.9 percent of mechanical engineers are women.

This article originally appeared in the College Planning & Management October 2018 issue of Spaces4Learning.

Featured

  • Niles West High School Natatorium Renovation

    Natatoriums are highly specialized spaces, and luminaires in this setting face several unique challenges. Perhaps the most significant is corrosion, which is exacerbated by high indoor humidity, condensation, and pool chemicals, often resulting in material degradation in luminaires not certified to perform in corrosive environments.

  • DLR Group Appoints New K–12 Education Practice Leader

    Integrated design firm DLR Group recently announced that it has named its new global K–12 Education leader, Senior Principal Carmen Wyckoff, AIA, LEED AP, according to a news release. Her teams have members in all 36 of the firm’s offices in the U.S., Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Europe, and Asia.

  • UNL Kiewit Hall

    Designing for Engineering Excellence: Integrating Sustainability and Wellness at UNLs Kiewit Hall

    Kiewit Hall at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln exemplifies how academic institutions can integrate sustainability and wellness into modern learning environments. With an integrated and collaborative team approach, Kiewit Hall addresses enhanced learning and creativity, physical health, and mental wellness, and fosters a sense of community through innovative design, operations, and policy solutions.

  • Spaces4Learning Trends & Predictions for Educational Facilities in 2026: Part II

    As education leaders look toward 2026, the design of K–12 and higher education facilities is being reshaped by powerful, converging forces. Survey respondents point to the rapid growth of Career and Technical Education, deeper alignment with workforce and industry needs, and the accelerating influence of AI and emerging technologies.

Digital Edition