Colleges Move to Close Gender Gap in Science
As more high-paying jobs require a degree and expertise in things like computer coding or mechanical engineering, colleges and universities are racing to fill a pronounced void in qualified candidates. One place they are making extra effort is among women.
The Labor Department estimates there will be 510,900 engineering job openings in the U.S. by 2024, and another 426,900 software development and programming jobs will be available, all requiring at least a bachelor’s degree.
While many schools have grown enrollment in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, fields in recent years, experts say the programs’ output still falls short of where the country needs to be in coming years. Administrators say one way to help bridge the gap will be to bring more women into the field.
Women make up more than half of students on U.S. college campuses, but receive only about two of every 10 degrees in fields such as computer science and engineering, according to federal data.
olleges have launched aggressive marketing campaigns, tweaked curricula and made efforts to promote real-world applications of science and technical fields in a bid to bring more women into the fields.
“Getting more women into STEM is about growing the pie,” said Matt Sigelman, chief executive of Burning Glass Technologies, a labor-market data firm. Figures on how long job postings in those fields stay up “suggest that employers are desperate for talent. Full stop.”
For example, he said, there were nearly 81,000 job postings for mechanical engineers last year, and they tended to stay up 20{154653b9ea5f83bbbf00f55de12e21cba2da5b4b158a426ee0e27ae0c1b44117} longer than other average job openings. Women comprise just 6{154653b9ea5f83bbbf00f55de12e21cba2da5b4b158a426ee0e27ae0c1b44117} of that field.
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