Arts and Culture Blog- Macy Moe

Women and Men in STEM Often at Odds Over Workplace Equity- CARY FUNK AND KIM PARKER

JANUARY 9, 2018

https://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2018/01/09/women-and-men-in-stem-often-at-odds-over-workplace-equity/

Summary

In this article, Funk and Parker dive deeper into the ongoing debate and discussion of the inequality between genders in STEM careers. STEM stands for science, technology, engineering, and math. Careers in these fields are highly respected and necessary for society, but most see these jobs fit for a man. This stereotype can put women at a disadvantage when it comes to working in these jobs. Studies have shown that 50% of women in STEM jobs have faced discrimination compared to the 41% of women who are not in a STEM career. The most seen form of mistreatment is found in the salary earned by males compared to females in the same job. The male and the female can have the same level of education and experience, but the male is more likely to make over 10% more than their female co-worker. Money is not the only issue with gender roles in the work place. Sexual harassment is another issue female STEM workers face. This is because the majority of workers are male which makes the women the minority and more vulnerable to mistreatment. This article moves to bring awareness to the mistreatments found in STEM careers.

Response

The facts and percentages found in this article describing the mistreatment of women in STEM career fields is shocking. As hard as it is to process and understand these numbers, this reality did not just become noticed or start happening. These results came from generation after generation of gender stereotypes being accepted. When you think about women entering into the workforce, you might believe that this happened long ago. In reality, the trend of women holding a full time job just came around about one hundred years ago. Around the time of World War II, the men went to fight and the women when to work. This time is when higher education for women started to increase. So the idea of women in the workforce is a fairly new idea which is the reason for the mistreatments seen today. Women are still not taken seriously. Although I do understand why some men want to provide for their families, it should not discredit a woman who has the same goals. Being a college student, I know how hard you have to work to achieve any degree, and that accomplishment should not be discredited due to someones gender.