A Better Way to Get More Women in STEM

Ada Lovelace (1815-1852): English mathematician and
the first computer programmer

There is a lot of misinformation about why there are fewer women in STEM (Science, Technology,
Engineering, Math) fields. To keep this post brief, I propose ONE solution: introduce social sciences sooner.

Women and men have different interests and those differences matter. In general, men are more interested in things (cars, rockets, guns); women are more interested in people (volunteer work, group fitness, social dance). (In improv theater, men tend to care more about object work and women are better at characters.) Some of these differences are innate, so let us accept them and work with the gifts nature endows.

Few women (even those strong in mathematics) are interested in LC circuits or nuclear fission, but many are interested in global poverty and adolescent development. Instead of requiring all women and men to study only Earth science, biology, chemistry, and physics, high schools should offer political science, psychology, sociology, and economics as well. In addition, high school research programs should include these social sciences.

Although the physical and social scientists strive to understand different phenomena, they must all know the basics of the following subjects:

1. Computer science
2. Linear algebra
3. Calculus (single & multivariable)
4. Probability
5. Statistics

(Studied in roughly that order)

Even if women with science backgrounds do not become academic researchers after their formal schooling, they will be attractive candidates for high-income positions such as software engineers, product managers, data scientists, machine learning engineers, financial analysts, actuaries, et cetera. They could even start their own companies by leveraging their technical skills.