In April 2023, Profiles in Diversity Journal, a quarterly B2B magazine focusing on diversity, inclusion, and equity in business, government, nonprofit, higher education, and military settings, announced the names of 35 Women Worth Watching in STEM. Out of the 35 women, Learning Undefeated’s Chief Innovation Officer, Jennifer Colvin, was named a Woman Worth Watching in STEM for her contributions to Learning Undefeated’s culture of innovation.
Celebrating the 25th annual awards, Profiles in Diversity Journal presents interviews, profiles, articles, case studies, and awards that highlight mission-driven leadership, best practices, workforce strategies, innovative ideas, and important individual contributions within the realm of diversity and inclusion. Since 1999, Profiles in Diversity Journal® has recognized the individuals, teams, and organizations that create, develop, and promote strategies and initiatives that support diversity, inclusion, and equity in the workplace and the larger community.
Read below a Q&A conducted by Profiles in Diversity Journal® with Jennifer diving deep into the role of women in STEM.
What can be done to increase diversity in STEM fields?
“What can’t be done to increase diversity in STEM fields? There are thousands of terrific ideas out there! Even talking about prioritizing diversity in STEM is a huge step in the right direction but I’m not satisfied yet. There are many important initiatives to increase diversity in STEM fields, but it’s also valuable to think about things each of us could do today.
- Be visible so young learners can see STEM professionals from a wide range of different backgrounds, genders, races, and ethnicities.
- Mentor someone from a group typically underrepresented in STEM. Help them see themselves in the field and create their own pathway to a career.
- Support your local science teacher to foster critical thinking skills and creativity by volunteering in their classroom, providing real world examples from your experiences for their curriculum, or hosting students for a tour of your workplace.
Most local STEM education nonprofits would gladly welcome your time as a volunteer to provide meaningful experiences for youth in STEM. For example, Learning Undefeated’s Emerging Leaders program supports Black and Latina women by helping them build the personal network of mentors and supporters they will need to sustain themselves through STEM education and career pathways, leveraging local women working in STEM as speakers, mentors, and lab partners. Work with a partner that has existing trusted relationships to maximize your time. Once you’ve gotten the hang of things, keep in contact with your mentee. You never know, they may be your colleague in five to ten years!”
What barriers do you see to closing the gender gap in STEM?
“Exposure, connections, and opportunity. Men are far more likely to have a network of professional connections in most career industries (even outside of STEM), which makes landing that promotion more difficult. Women must work twice as hard as their male counterparts just to be accepted on the same level, overperforming to prove worth. We also deal with a plethora of microaggressions and sexism-related challenges, such as undervalued credibility, imposter syndrome, ageism, and reluctance to say no, which impacts personal and family time. It’s a constant game of catch-up for women, even in today’s workplace.”
How is the world changing with respect to STEM?
“To everyone who has worked to increase awareness and urging investment in STEM, I say thank you and keep up the good work! From the cell phone in our pocket to the recent medical breakthroughs that offered COVID vaccines so quickly to the world, we have a lot more awareness of the impacts STEM has on the world around us. There is a lot of support for better and faster ways to solve problems, but we must also keep the pressure on fostering a diverse pipeline and providing equitable access to high quality STEM education. Increasing engagement in STEM among groups underrepresented in these fields can and will improve the talent pool. For example, if women, minorities, and children from lower-income families, for instance, were to invent at the same rate as white men from high-income families, the total number of inventors in the economy could quadruple.”
What can be done to move women forward in STEM?
“We have made a lot of progress towards balancing the number of women in the physical and mathematical sciences, but still have a lot of ground to cover in engineering and computer science. Women are quite outnumbered in STEM (less than 25% of the STEM workforce each year from 2016 -2019). We also need more women in technician roles, just one of the many career pathways available. It’s important to connect young women with meaningful STEM experiences to create awareness of career opportunities, highlight pathways, and build bridges to career onramps in STEM. At Learning Undefeated we use fun and engaging learning spaces to motivate students like our award-winning Drop Anywhere Lab. The portable learning experience travels directly to the school parking lot, giving students access to immersive reality and collaborative gameplay based on the practices of science and engineering.
The program also provides volunteer engagement for a wide variety of STEM professionals because representation matters. We want our students to see themselves in these careers. Exposure to STEM career professionals is especially important to women. Contact with female experts in STEM has enhanced women’s self-concept in STEM, attitudes toward STEM, and motivation to pursue STEM careers.”
