Empowering the Next Generation:

Ever since I was a child, the individuals around me have empowered me to seek after what I wanted to pursue. And for me, that was science. My guardians permitted seven-year-old Nicole to flip through the pages of their ancient medical textbooks filled with overwhelming words such as acute pharyngitis, viral rhinitis, and anemia. Even though seven-year-old Nicole didn't precisely understand what these words meant, she was still charmed by the apparently perpetual world of the human body.

Youthful Nicole was also enrolled in several science camps, where her encounters ranged from dissecting a pig and sticking flags in its organs to building a mini zip line to culturing bacteria swabbed from the surface of her phone.

Throughout my life, I've lived in an environment that has backed my interests and challenged me to do more every single day, including my environment here at CPS. However, as I've met more individuals and learned more about the world around me, I've grown to realize that these experiences are not universal.

In truth, many young girls experience the polar opposite of a positive and supportive environment regarding their experiences in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, abbreviated as STEM. I've heard stories of girls who have been shut down by people who are meant to be figures of trust: instructors, guidance counselors, and even parents.

One notable example is a geneticist named Dr. Jennifer Doudna, who is celebrated for her work in CRISPR gene editing. Her high school guidance counselor told her, “Girls do not do science.”

These experiences and several other factors lead to the current gender disparity in STEM. Overall, in the STEM field, women and men have roughly equal numbers. But the issue lies in the imbalance in certain areas. In health-related fields, women are overrepresented, making up 74 percent of the field. However, in areas like computer science and engineering, women make up 25 percent and 15 percent, respectively.

Studies show that these imbalances actually stem from the beginning of their lives. Girls are less likely to be encouraged to go into STEM by the people around them. This lack of support is due to the prevailing gender roles in society, where men are expected to be confident, assertive, and have qualities associated with STEM jobs, while women are seen as more submissive and too emotional, often associated with arts and humanities.

Because of these different gender roles, girls and boys are raised differently, which leads to girls being less confident and seeming less skilled in the fields they want to pursue, especially in areas of science. This perceived lack of talent discourages girls from pursuing higher education in these fields, leading to them being unprepared for STEM jobs and roles. This discouragement is detrimental because we need more girls in STEM due to the benefits of gender equality.

Gender equality promotes a more innovative environment where girls and boys come together to share their perspectives and increase the collective knowledge. However, if there's no gender diversity, the technology and innovations from these fields are often less fair and less accessible. For example, a study showed that facial recognition technology tended to work better for white men but worse for women and people of color. This was because the majority of developers were white men, who used photos of people like them to develop the technology, resulting in it being less accessible for women and people of color.

It may seem overwhelming, like a snowball rolling faster and faster downhill, but we can stop it. We can stop it by encouraging girls today and promoting a supportive environment where girls have safe spaces to pursue their passions, such as clubs like “Girls Can Code” and “Women in STEM.”

We should also promote an environment where girls are encouraged to explore opportunities in the STEM field and obtain experiences that show them the positive impact of being in STEM. We can highlight amazing role models in STEM, such as Marie Curie, a notable Nobel Prize winner known for her work on radioactivity; Katherine Johnson, a research mathematician at NASA trusted more by astronauts to do calculations than actual computers; and Dr. Jennifer Doudna, a Nobel biochemist who has made significant strides in CRISPR gene editing. Like these women, any girl can achieve the impossible.

To help women currently in STEM, we should create a safer and better environment by assessing their current conditions and implementing steps and training to ensure safety. This can be achieved by implementing reporting systems for harassment or discrimination, ensuring accountability, and preventing recurrence. It's important to appreciate their contributions and recognize their inspiring role in society.

Thank you so much for listening. Thank you to my teachers, mentors, and peers for creating such a supportive environment and allowing me to pursue my passions in STEM. Thank you to the women in STEM for being there, for inspiring us, and making significant contributions to society. Lastly, to the girls of today who may have been discouraged from going into STEM by trusted individuals or societal expectations: I believe in you. Even though I may just be one voice, I hope that my one voice can help you achieve your dreams