Where Women and STEM Meet: A Morning With Google

“My daughter’s on her laptop all the time.”

“My daughter’s glued to her cell phone!”

“I hired a woman once and she did a great job!”

This is the extent to which adults hear about young women and technology. Of course that speaks to their representation in the media (which is another story) but imagine children, who are not particularly aware of the gender disparities in education and the workforce, and what they think when they do not see their gender represented -- because children notice much more than we give them credit for.

When young girls in particular do not see women working in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) and computer science, naturally, they do not gravitate towards the field. It is the “If you can’t see it, you can’t be it” effect.

On Tuesday, Feb. 2, Google and the Center for American Progress brought a panel of experts together to not only further analyze the under-representation of women in STEM and CS environments but also to discuss the latest initiatives put in place to bridge the digital divide and bring fresh insight into a male-dominated field where gender stereotypes persist.

“It was mind-boggling then and it is frustrating now to see how far we still have to go,” exclaimed Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, D-Hawaii, in reference to narrowing the gender gap. Although we live in a progressive time, the panelists reiterated that the STEM industry continues to lack gender and racial diversity. People still associate intellect, strength and autonomy with men whereas they associate qualities like dependence, fragility and emotion with women. Most millennials would challenge the idea but the truth is, the stereotypes still shape their sense of self.

The female identity is at odds with the technical identity. Women are either categorized as masculine or the tech version of a “sexy teacher.” Young girls and women are judged on their appearance before they are judged on their skills.

You don’t have to be “one of the boys” to code. You don’t have to play video games to be a programmer. Being intrigued by computer science does not make you less of a girl, nor is it anything to be ashamed of.

Like seventeen year Founder & CEO of Everybody Code Now!, Swetha Prabakaran explained, there is an unspoken pressure to overachieve in a classroom full of boys. And if you identify with more than one marginalized group, you have to work twice as hard for the respect you deserve, according to Allison Scott, Chief Research Officer at the Kapor Center.

While no two women share the same experience, Gabbard reassured us these women in tech know how to do one thing: to show the boys how it’s done.

This is where encouragement comes into play. Google, alongside Gallup, concluded whether it be at home, at a summer camp or at school, positive reinforcement of computer science pursuits and a personal belief that such a pursuit can not only be possible, but successful, can sway young women in the direction of computer science. Teachers, parents and peers can encourage these young girls to dare to take those challenging courses and celebrate their efforts rather than their results. When the young girls feel like they are doing something worthwhile, this will boost their own self perception which will then transform to self determination.

Positive reinforcement, however, is null and void without constant exposure. As Ruthe Farmer, Chief Strategy and Growth Officer Director at NCWIT, explained, the secret sauce is in understanding that encouragement requires more than just one week at summer camp, or a beginner’s level coding class; it requires consistency and unconditional support, otherwise students will not be left wanting more. Their appetite for STEM would be non-existent.

Addressing diversity issue with school districts and trying to convince them to make STEM more accessible when they are not obligated to presents quite the challenge for COO & VP Government of Affairs, Cameron Wilson. It is up to the community. It takes a village, right?

Parents and their children should not have to be fearful of failure or worse, not belonging. Not when there are organizations walking parents through supporting their young prospective engineers as well as getting through to administrators.

The beauty of the situation is we have the leader of our nation, President Barack Obama, strongly urging young women everywhere to tear down the ceiling; a unique and equally exciting sight for sore eyes. With ESSA aligning the agenda and receiving bipartisan support (in states as liberal as Washington and as conservative as Arkansas) it gives us more incentive to embrace CS in our curriculum. Hopefully, the rest of the nation will follow suit and foster more interest in STEM not only for the sake of the children, but for the sake of the future.

Representation isn’t important-- it’s necessary! As the conversation grows, it is important to remember the most vital message Facebook founder Mark Zuckerburg ever relayed, “Be the nerd, don’t date the nerd.”

Original article can be found here.