CELEBRATING WOMEN IN SCIENCE

The consequences of girls dropping out of the scientific pipeline are real. Today, women make up 49 percent of the workforce but only 25 percent of the STEM workforce. Changing stereotypes about girls and women in STEM is important, and here’s why:

• Science and technology help drive the economy. To ensure the place of the United States in international markets and as a scientific world leader, we must tap all available resources. If there are 12-year-old girls with the potential to become scientists or engineers, we must ensure that they have opportunities to develop their talents.

• Science improves and grows only through the contributions of its members. Each scientist brings a unique perspective to the field, and each perspective is important. Few can predict what good idea is going to be the next great idea or who will come up with it. Opening the field to as many people as possible is essential for stem to flourish.

• Our society reaps benefits when its members are scientifically literate.Technological, medical, and scientific advancements are being made rapidly. A solid foundation in science is vital to understanding how to incorporate this new information into our daily lives.

“For what is done or learned by one class of women becomes, by virtue of their common womanhood, the

property of all women.”- Elizabeth Blackwell

According to the National Science Foundation, nearly half of all PhDs earned in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) fields are earned by women, up from 10% in 1960. Women now earn nearly 60 percent of all bachelor’s degrees in STEM fields. Despite, these gains, women are still underrepresented in STEM fields.

The Department of Energy is actively working to enhance opportunities for women in STEM fields and to change stereotypes about girls and women in these areas. We hope to encourage the next generation of women in STEM, following the legacy of the many women scientists, mathematicians, and engineers that have paved to way for others to follow.

THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY IS EMPOWERING WOMEN IN

SCIENCE

THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY IS EMPOWERING

WOMEN IN SCIENCE

In elementary school, about as many girls as boys have a positive attitude toward science. In a recent survey, fully 66 percent of fourth-grade girls (and 68 percent of fourth-grade boys) reported that they “like” science but shortly thereafter, more girls than boys begin to turn away from science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). This begins the “leaking pipeline” that results in significant underrepresentation of women in many STEM careers.

A principal reason is cultural stereotypes—stereotypes that are changing, but not quickly enough. Girls’ declining interest in STEM often results from cultural beliefs, images, and practices that communicate stereotyped messages that these subjects are more appropriate for boys than for girls. As a result, girls begin to conclude that stem is not for them. These beliefs often begin early and influ-ence choices they make throughout school.

The Department of Energy is working to promote opportunities for women and girls in STEM fields and change the stereotypes about girls and women in STEM. DOE programs aim at a range of grade levels, from upper elementary to undergraduate. Ultimately, DOE seeks to inspire in girls and young women the confidence, enthusiasm, and persistence to continue pursuing their scientific interests.

Adapted from NSF 06-60, New Formulas for America's Workforce 2: Girls

in Science and Engineering,

MARIA AGNESI

ELIZABETH BLACKWELL

Doctor (1821 – 1910)

Blackwell was the first female doctor in the United States, the first woman to graduate from medical school, and a pioneer in educating

women in medicine.

MARIE CURIE

Mathematician (1718 – 1799)

Agnesi wrote the first mathematics book introducing integral and

differential calculus; also the first book on mathematics written by a woman that still survives. She

was the first woman appointed as a mathematics professor at a

university.

Chemist (1867-1934)

Curie is famous for her work on radioactivity. She won the Nobel prize twice, first in 1903 (jointly

with her husband, and with Henri Becquerel) for the discovery of

radium and polonium, and again (by herself) in 1911 for the isola-

tion of pure radium.

DOROTHY CROWFOOT HODGKIN

Chemist (1910 - 1994)

Hodgkin won the Nobel Prize of 1964 in chemistry for her de-

termination by x-ray techniques of the structure of biologically

important molecules.

Nuclear Physicist (1921 - )

Yallow is an American medical physicist and a co-winner of the 1977 Nobel Prize in Physiology

or Medicine for her development of the radioimmunoassay (RIA)

technique.

ROSALYN SUSSMAN YALOW

LINDA B. BUCK

Neurobiologist (1947- )

Buck is a neurobiologist who was awarded the 2004 Nobel Prize in

Physiology or Medicine along with Richard Axel for their work on

olfactory receptors.