Want to help support initiatives like our Annual Women in STEM Research Symposium or the Interdisciplinary Mentoring Programs?1. Click here to donate!
2. Type in your "Total Gift Amount" into the top box and the "Selected Designations Box". 3. In the "Please describe other fund not listed" box, type "CFW-STEM Committee" or "Pipeline". 4. Leave the "Online Gift Code" box blank. 5. Fill in the rest of the fields as indicated, and you're done! Thank you for your support! How will your donation help?In 2014, 13 students -- undergraduate and graduate students, men and women -- got together to start the first UT student organization that would focus specifically on the status and representation of women in all of the nearly 50 different science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields we have here at the University of Tennessee. In the first year alone, we grew to nearly 75 members from over 25 different STEM departments, and the interest in this new diverse, interdisciplinary committee and the initiatives we’re implementing to help UT leadership reach their goal of becoming a top 25 public research university doesn’t seem to be slowing down one bit!
Last year, we designed and organized the 3rd Annual Women in STEM Research Symposium where 90 undergraduate and graduate women in STEM presented their latest research findings, interacted with faculty members and experts from their academic field or local industry via a panel discussion, and heard a keynote lecture given by an influential woman in STEM. We also started the first-ever interdisciplinary STEM mentoring program at UT, and hosted a lecture series where we discussed how and why the lack of women in STEM is just as much a problem for men in STEM. This year, we plan to expand our mentoring programs and start a new committee that focus on issues of intersectionality for women on color and minorities in STEM. Why women in STEM? |
Donors and Partners1. Click here to donate!
2. Type in your "Total Gift Amount" into the top box and the "Selected Designations Box". 3. In the "Please describe other fund not listed" box, type "CFW-STEM Committee" or "Pipeline". 4. Leave the "Online Gift Code" box blank. 5. Fill in the rest of the fields as indicated, and you're done! |
The STEM workforce is critical to America’s growth, innovation, and global competitiveness, and universities like UT are training the next generation of scientists and engineers who will help tackle the growing problems facing our future: finding better ways to generate electricity, feed 7 billion people, combat climate change, and fight infectious diseases. If we ever want to solve these increasingly complex issues, we will need a diverse group of people not only from an array of scientific disciplines, but from different life experiences as well. Each and every person has a unique set of experiences that has helped shape them into who they are today. Each and every person has a unique view of the world. And each and every person has a unique way of solving problems. We need every view, and every experience contributing to solve each of these problems.
The facts are simple.
The facts are simple.
Although women hold about half of all the jobs in the U.S. economy and graduate with more college degrees than men, they make up only 25% of the STEM workforce and make less money than men for the same work in these fields. This discrepancy gets even worse as you look further up corporate career ladders or focus on minority women. In other words, half as many women are working in STEM fields compared to what you would expect if gender representation in STEM jobs matched the overall workforce, and we’re leaving highly qualified scientists, engineers, and technologists at the lower rungs of corporate career ladders, and paying them less to do so.
You may be thinking, “Isn’t that just because girls aren’t as interested in science as boys and so they don’t go into those fields early on?” or, “Girls don’t have the spatial skills that boys do and their brains are smaller, so that’s why they’re aren’t as successful in STEM.” or, “Women just don’t like working the long hours on difficult problems like those that are found in STEM jobs and they prefer working with people so they choose those other jobs.”, or finally, you may even be thinking, “Women want to/have to support their families at home, so they don’t have time for a STEM job.”, right?
As plausible as these may sound to some--and indeed, some will undoubtedly still try and argue that these are true--the data and scientific evidence just do not support ANY of these explanations. Not even one of them.
The research is clear.
You may be thinking, “Isn’t that just because girls aren’t as interested in science as boys and so they don’t go into those fields early on?” or, “Girls don’t have the spatial skills that boys do and their brains are smaller, so that’s why they’re aren’t as successful in STEM.” or, “Women just don’t like working the long hours on difficult problems like those that are found in STEM jobs and they prefer working with people so they choose those other jobs.”, or finally, you may even be thinking, “Women want to/have to support their families at home, so they don’t have time for a STEM job.”, right?
As plausible as these may sound to some--and indeed, some will undoubtedly still try and argue that these are true--the data and scientific evidence just do not support ANY of these explanations. Not even one of them.
The research is clear.
Girls are just as interested, if not more interested in science and engineering at the K-12 level and when they’re first entering those fields, there is no scientific evidence or statistical significance between human biology or brain size and the ability or willingness of girls and women to pursue STEM work, and the reasons women leave their job to care for their families are overwhelmingly NOT because they want to, but because of outdated cultural norms, gender stereotyping, and fewer necessary support mechanisms (mentors, family-leave flexibility, etc.) at work. In fact, women that hold STEM jobs earn 33% more than women in non-STEM jobs, meaning the gender wage gap is smaller in STEM jobs, enabling those families to be more stable.
In the past 10-15 years, there has been significant progress nationally at the K-12 level. Girls are now scoring higher on STEM exams and taking just as many AP classes as the boys. It’s when they go to college that the numbers start to change, and they continue to separate as you look further along in a career path. This has been shown to be due to many factors, including: 1) a lack of female role models which reinforces cultural stereotypes that math and science are “male” fields and drives women away from STEM jobs, 2) lack of recognition and resources such as research funding, scholarly awards, panel invitations, or lead author recognition, and 3) unconscious biases that have shown to empirically impact evaluators’ favorability of resumes and applications with more “female-sounding” names for example.
This is where we come in, with your help!
In the past 10-15 years, there has been significant progress nationally at the K-12 level. Girls are now scoring higher on STEM exams and taking just as many AP classes as the boys. It’s when they go to college that the numbers start to change, and they continue to separate as you look further along in a career path. This has been shown to be due to many factors, including: 1) a lack of female role models which reinforces cultural stereotypes that math and science are “male” fields and drives women away from STEM jobs, 2) lack of recognition and resources such as research funding, scholarly awards, panel invitations, or lead author recognition, and 3) unconscious biases that have shown to empirically impact evaluators’ favorability of resumes and applications with more “female-sounding” names for example.
This is where we come in, with your help!
Annual Women in STEM Research Symposium
For three years in a row, we have designed and hosted an interdisciplinary research symposium specifically for UTK women in STEM. This year we are hosting this annual, day-long, professional conference again, where we will highlight the broad variety of scholarly contributions and phenomenal research being conducted by women in STEM, at every level, from across UT campus. Self-identifying female undergraduate and graduate students will be invited to give poster or oral presentations of their research granting them the opportunity to practice communicating their research to a diverse and interdisciplinary audience. Faculty judges will evaluate the students based on content and delivery, and the best presentations will receive an award, offering recognition to STEM researchers at a critical stage in their careers. Invited guests for a panel discussion will include members of UT leadership and faculty, research staff from Oak Ridge National Lab, and local industry professionals, allowing students to network with potential mentors and collaborators. There will also be a keynote address given by a prominent woman in STEM showing these early-career scientists and engineers that there are people like them that are finding success in STEM fields.
Equal status and representation of women in STEM disciplines is essential to UT’s Top 25 strategy to out-educate and out-innovate other public universities. This symposium will help expand the conversation and raise awareness about the importance of supporting underrepresented STEM students and researchers, while providing a venue for students and faculty to share research results, foster new networks and mentoring relationships, and form new collaborations across campus.
As one of our donors, YOU will help fund this year’s symposium, providing 1) student presenters with a venue and materials to present their research projects, 2) travel and lodging for a prominent woman in STEM to give our keynote lecture, 3) lunch for all presenters and invited guests, 4) expenses associated with advertising and printing materials, and 5) awards for the best poster and best oral presentation given at the symposium.
For three years in a row, we have designed and hosted an interdisciplinary research symposium specifically for UTK women in STEM. This year we are hosting this annual, day-long, professional conference again, where we will highlight the broad variety of scholarly contributions and phenomenal research being conducted by women in STEM, at every level, from across UT campus. Self-identifying female undergraduate and graduate students will be invited to give poster or oral presentations of their research granting them the opportunity to practice communicating their research to a diverse and interdisciplinary audience. Faculty judges will evaluate the students based on content and delivery, and the best presentations will receive an award, offering recognition to STEM researchers at a critical stage in their careers. Invited guests for a panel discussion will include members of UT leadership and faculty, research staff from Oak Ridge National Lab, and local industry professionals, allowing students to network with potential mentors and collaborators. There will also be a keynote address given by a prominent woman in STEM showing these early-career scientists and engineers that there are people like them that are finding success in STEM fields.
Equal status and representation of women in STEM disciplines is essential to UT’s Top 25 strategy to out-educate and out-innovate other public universities. This symposium will help expand the conversation and raise awareness about the importance of supporting underrepresented STEM students and researchers, while providing a venue for students and faculty to share research results, foster new networks and mentoring relationships, and form new collaborations across campus.
As one of our donors, YOU will help fund this year’s symposium, providing 1) student presenters with a venue and materials to present their research projects, 2) travel and lodging for a prominent woman in STEM to give our keynote lecture, 3) lunch for all presenters and invited guests, 4) expenses associated with advertising and printing materials, and 5) awards for the best poster and best oral presentation given at the symposium.
Mentoring and Professional Development Programs
Funds will also be used to finance our interdisciplinary mentoring programs that will pair undergraduate STEM students with graduate students and post-docs with faculty mentors using a series of meet-and-greet events. Mentors will be provided materials and seminars with information about how to effectively mentor students from a variety of backgrounds and scientific disciplines. WiSTAR3 will hold monthly events to help prepare graduate students for advance careers in research.
We’ve built the foundation. We have an organized and motivated team of future scientists and engineers. And we’ve come up with a few “Big Orange Ideas” to make sure we leave our mark here at UT. But now, we need your help. Donate today to help us achieve our mission of developing an equal, diverse, and competitive STEM workforce, because “Tennessee needs STEM, and STEM needs women.”
Funds will also be used to finance our interdisciplinary mentoring programs that will pair undergraduate STEM students with graduate students and post-docs with faculty mentors using a series of meet-and-greet events. Mentors will be provided materials and seminars with information about how to effectively mentor students from a variety of backgrounds and scientific disciplines. WiSTAR3 will hold monthly events to help prepare graduate students for advance careers in research.
We’ve built the foundation. We have an organized and motivated team of future scientists and engineers. And we’ve come up with a few “Big Orange Ideas” to make sure we leave our mark here at UT. But now, we need your help. Donate today to help us achieve our mission of developing an equal, diverse, and competitive STEM workforce, because “Tennessee needs STEM, and STEM needs women.”
1. Click here to donate!
2. Type in your "Total Gift Amount" into the top box and the "Selected Designations Box".
3. In the "Please describe other fund not listed" box, type "CFW-STEM Committee" or "Pipeline".
4. Leave the "Online Gift Code" box blank.
5. Fill in the rest of the fields as indicated, and you're done!
2. Type in your "Total Gift Amount" into the top box and the "Selected Designations Box".
3. In the "Please describe other fund not listed" box, type "CFW-STEM Committee" or "Pipeline".
4. Leave the "Online Gift Code" box blank.
5. Fill in the rest of the fields as indicated, and you're done!