Colleges are Working to Engage Women in STEM Fields and We Like That Mission

In a new U.S. News & World Report article, writer Delece Smith-Barron reports that colleges are working to engage women and minority students in STEM fields.

The Association of American Colleges and Universities, she writes, has announced 20 schools for participation in their Teaching to Increase Diversity and Equity in STEM program, ​known as TIDES.

The article quotes Vice President for Undergraduate Education Kelly Mack saying that the program, “aims to increase the number of women and underrepresented minority students who are supported by faculty members that make them feel empowered.”

In the article, Mack says, “when underrepresented minorities​ and women see people who resemble them teaching science, technology, engineering or math, the experience can be encouraging."

Another great point in the piece comes from Penny Rheingans, the director for the Center for Women in Technology at the University of Maryland—Baltimore County.  She says that prospective STEM students should look for schools with structures in place to support women like networking opportunities, mentoring services, seminars, and living-learning residence communities.  “If students struggle in class and have few peers and faculty that look like them, it's easy for them to think, maybe I'm not supposed to be here, either," she says.

We love this article because it reminds us of our own mission here at WiM.  We also believe that building a support system which allows women in STEM fields to find role models similar to themselves with help us achieve the goal of attracting and retaining more women in manufacturing.