I had never thought of myself as a STEM woman. I started dancing when I was three years old. A few years later, I learned my first instrument and a foreign language. I soon discovered my passion for painting, theater, and handicrafts. How my parents' car worked, why planes flew, plants grew, and my favorite computer game ran smoothly – none of that interested me, at least not in detail.
But today, as a grown up with 30+ years of life experience, I sometimes wonder whether this was simply my personality or whether I was instead just swimming with the masses of young girls who were interested in traditionally supposed "female topics". Or worse, believing that science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) were just for boys. Persuaded by gender stereotypes? Less encouraged because I thought I had limited choices in my education and career development?
Only 35% of STEM students are women
No, of course things don’t look so bleak in my personal case – on the contrary, I like to believe. But overall, the situation of women and girls in STEM disciplines is still very much in imbalance: According to the United Nations, women only occupy a small minority of top-level positions despite an improvement in recent years. Only 22 women have been awarded a Nobel prize in a scientific discipline to date, says the UNESCO. In cutting edge fields such as artificial intelligence, only one in five professionals (22%) is a woman. And women still account for only 28% of engineering graduates and 40% of graduates in computer science and informatics. Female researchers tend to have shorter, less well-paid careers. Their work is underrepresented in high-profile journals and they are often passed over for promotion. And only 35% of all students in STEM related fields of study are women.
Although science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields are widely regarded as critical to national economies, so far, most countries, no matter their level of development, have not achieved gender equality. I think that’s shocking. And it comes as no surprise really that the General Assembly of the United Nations on December 22 in 2015 decided to establish an annual International Day to recognize the critical role women and girls play in science and technology, through Resolution A/RES/70/212. All of us should seize the opportunity to promote full and equal access to and participation in science for women and girls. And that’s what I’m doing right now.
I switched to STEM and so can you!
I became a STEM girl! About 1,5 years ago, I completely switched gears career-wise, quit a well-paid and well-regarded job to start anew in the technology industry with SAP. What seemed ill-conceived to the point of crazy to some, proved to be one of the most challenging and exciting opportunities. I work in communications and learning, so every day is filled with new discoveries and technical deep dives. It feels like you’re at the heart of technological innovations, close to the action and the people, shaken from the earthquake that is currently hitting the tech world. I mean – artificial intelligence!
Thankfully, women and girls have made tremendous progress towards increasing their participation in STEM fields. One of the most inspiring stories I came across recently is the one from Sandra Solís, who refused to be demotivated by a failed exam and turned to SAP’s digital skills initiative. Let’s take this day and Sandra’s example as a reminder that they need to play a critical role and that their participation should be strengthened.
Start your own STEM story and talk about it
I haven’t put aside my love for languages, theatre, painting, and dancing. Instead, I have enriched my life with a new dimension, the topic of technology. And you can do it too. If you’re looking for a place to start, head over to SAP Learning site, where I completed the Discover SAP Business Technology Platform course and while you're at it, learn more about SAP’s digital skills initiative which supports underrepresented groups of people who want to break into tech. If you want to learn more on how IT leaders can bridge the gender gap, or get more women in IT jobs, I highly recommend reading these two articles from my fellow SAP colleague Nicole Helmer.
Let’s use February 11 and raise awareness for women and girls in STEM. I know you’re out there – Share your tips and tricks for starting a career in tech in the comments too!
