Pinterest Releases Demographic Data

After Google made the initial decision to release information about its employee demographics, others were sure to follow suit.  Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Pinterest have since published their company numbers, and they are less than shocking.  

The results are in: the vast majority behind the workforce of Silicon Valley’s biggest powerhouses is men, and not just any men, but white men.

While this information is nothing new, it does raise already present concerns about the overwhelming gender and diversity issues surrounding the tech industry.

Below are the results from Pinterest’s employee demographic study.

According to the study, 79 percent of tech jobs at Pinterest are held by men as well as 81 percent of all leadership roles.  Not to mention a whopping 92 percent of Pinterest’s overall workforce is either White (50%) or Asian (42%). 

These numbers clearly show a need for change within the tech world. 

There are still a few major Silicon Valley tech companies that have yet to publish their demographic data, but they are all expected to be similar to what we have already seen from Google and Pinterest.

Read the full article here: http://on.mash.to/1rhFpTK

Download the Women in STEM Brochure Today

The Women in STEM brochure is HERE. Download it now and find out what’s on offer at this
inspiring Summit aimed at answering the question of 'how to attract and retain more women in STEM fields: http://bit.ly/1nO4fg4

Key Summit Benefits:

HR Professionals: LEARN about best case practices in smart STEM investing and participate in
company presentations to help feed your pipelines of STEM talent.

Scientist, Engineers, Mathematicians and IT experts: ENGAGE in discussions and share your stories about staying in STEM fields and partake in mentorship opportunities.

Diversity and Inclusions and Corporate Social Responsibility teams: SHOWCASE your corporate culture to future STEM talent and change the makeup of America’s workforce.

Talent and Acquisition Representatives: MEET recent STEM graduates and hear feedback about what is important in recruiting and retaining female talent in the next generation of STEM professionals.

Women in STEM Exchange Idea Summit Boston

October 21, 2014
Center for Women and Business
Bentley University, Waltham, MA

Do not miss your chance to participate in these thought provoking subjects:

·         Besty Myers on... Engaging Men as Full Partners in the Advancement of Women...

·         STEMx, Dassault Systems, Reytheon, MIT on... Leveraging Key Partnerships...

·         Julie Kantor on... Million Women Mentors…

·         Tata Consultancy Services on … Smart STEM investing…

·         Dr. Uma Gupta on… Ethnic Diversity of the STEM Workforce…

·         Draper Laboratory, Hanscom Airforce, Pfizer on... Employee Engagement Programs…

For this information and so much more download our brochure today!  http://bit.ly/1nO4fg4

Be a part of the Women in STEM Idea Exchange Summit and engage, discuss and create a movement to change the future of America’s workforce.

Register today for the Women in STEM Idea Exchange Summit this fall: http://bit.ly/1rYdRnN

See you in Boston!

Best,

The Women in STEM Exchange Summits Team

#WomeninSTEM

@WISExchange

Steamacceleratorblog.blogspot.com

Related articles

• STEM programs make impact, still need work, advocates say (crainsdetroit.com)
• Nipping the STEM gender imbalance in the bud (telegraph.co.uk)

How to Equalize the STEM Workforce

As it stands today, women receive 57 percent of all bachelor’s degrees given in the United States, as well as 60 percent of all master’s degrees.  So why, even when backed with an outstanding number of graduates, are women still underrepresented in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields?  

There is no doubt this question invites debate.  Do women stray from careers in STEM due to unseen social pressures and gender bias?  Or is it because women believe they are not cut out for success in such fields?  Whatever the reason, Ravishly.com sought out to find an answer to the ever present question of why women are underrepresented in STEM.

The online content site, focused on all-things women, asked seven prominent women to share their ideas on the current situation and possible solutions for recalibrating the STEM workforce.

Here are a few of their responses:

Lisa Chau

Founder of Alpha Vert, private digital strategy consultancy specializing in content marketing and social media

According to the National Girls Collaborative Project, with the exception of engineering and physics, girls in grades K-12 perform as well as boys in advanced science and mathematics classes. However, a divergence materializes between the genders at the undergraduate level of study:

In 2010, 3% of bachelor's degrees in engineering, 6.1% of bachelor's degrees in physical sciences, 5.2% of bachelor's degrees in mathematics, 4.9% of bachelor's degrees in computer sciences, 9.3% of bachelor's degrees in biological sciences, and 13% of bachelor's degrees in social sciences were awarded to minority women (NSF, 2013).

Thus, it is unsurprising that women are underrepresented in the STEM workforce though they comprise 58.1% of the total workforce.

Part of the trouble can be traced to college, where female students lack role models and do not receive equal support from faculty. Katherine Milkman of The Wharton School led research conducted at 259 top-tier schools across 89 disciplines, and found that professors "ignored requests from women and minorities at a higher rate than requests from white males . . . We see a 25-percentage-point gap in the response rate to Caucasian males versus women and minorities."

Lexi Herrick

HuffPo Women contributing writer; marketer for global technology company
There is an issue with trying to determine why STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) is still a four-letter word to women: We're asking the wrong question. We should be asking instead, Why is STEM still a four-letter word to girls? Representing women in technology and science begins with raising girls to become a part of those fields. 

If you're a woman and belong to the majority of women not employed in a STEM occupation, can you still remember the moment you lost a genuine interest or confidence in those subjects? Well, I can. I often claim to have always been dreadful at studying anything scientific, but that really isn't true. In fact, I used to excel in the science--I loved everything about it. Until high school, that is. The critical years of shifting between a teenager and a young adult are a main culprit of young girls falling away from STEM.

To read all seven responses, visit: http://huff.to/1pzJIbY

From STEM to Success

The women truly had the floor at the Clinton Foundation’s “From STEM to Success: A No Ceilings Conversation” held in Denver on June 23^rd.  Led by Chelsea Clinton and a panel of influential women in STEM fields, the conversation focused on the ever-present need to get more girls interested in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math).

During the discussion, past and present statistics about women in the STEM workforce were used to highlight the need for change.  The statistics indicated a negative shift of the diversity in STEM over the past couple decades.  It was said that in 1984, 37 percent of computer-science degrees were received by women; however, only 12 percent of the same degrees are given to women today.  This obvious decline of women pursuing careers in STEM is why Chelsea Clinton and the Clinton Foundation are seeking a solution to one of America’s largest remaining gender gaps. 

“We’re looking from 1995 until 2015 as to where women and girls have gained in terms of rights and opportunities around the world and in the United States to where gaps still persist.  And STEM around the world, but acutely here in the U.S, is an area where not only the gap remains but the gap has widened in the last 20 years,” said Clinton.  She attributes the widening gender gap to young women and girls not always being encouraged to consider careers in STEM.  

The problem seems to start in the early years of the education system, where middle school teachers have been found to call on boys more often than girls in science and math classes, discouraging the girls’ desire to stick with these subjects.  Other problems include the increasing social pressures women see in the STEM world, like their current underrepresentation in those fields.

Some young students spoke up at the event about their personal experiences with the current social pressures facing women in the STEM industry.  “There’s a lot of boys in our school who if they see a girl doing sciencey stuff they judge you and call you a nerd and stuff. It’s totally fine for the boys, but people judge you for being a girl who likes science.”  Gender bias like this is what the Clinton Foundation’s “No Ceilings Initiative” is attempting to get rid of.

Recently, the Clinton Foundation has joined up with Google on its “Made With Code Project,” which aims to provide young women with female role models, or mentors, in an attempt to offer guidance for a future in STEM.

For more on the Clinton Foundation’s “From STEM to Success: A No Ceilings Conversation,” and what is being done to close the gender gap in STEM, go to: http://ti.me/1vdCY5v