Identifying challenges; finding and implementing solutions

Why and how women and minorities abandon STEM majors has been the focus of a series of studies by Amanda Griffith, associate professor of economics at Wake Forest

The story of women in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) fields is one of solid accomplishments amid an array of serious challenges.

“There is a lot of research money in this high-profile area, and women are not represented proportionally," researcher says

The study found that when women planned to delay marriage and limit the number of children they wanted—which would let them focus exclusively on work—they didn’t get the same employment opportunities in STEM as men

A new University of Washington study is among the first to address that question by comparing gender disparities across STEM fields

"This study indicates that there may be promising nontraditional options for attracting and retaining women in science,” researcher says

Over the past several years, the U.S. has ranked low among other nations in numbers of students proficient in math and science, as well as skilled workers in those fields

“Women are not especially sensitive to negative workplace social conditions,” researcher says. “Rather, both women and men exhibit similar responses to the same types of stressful workplace conditions.”

Test difficulty may be the cause behind lower scores of females; socioeconomic status also found to have effect