Bringing Even More Women into STEM
Taking a look at some of the ways the Academy supports, empowers and celebrates women in STEM.
Published December 06, 2016
Throughout history, women have always played a role in contributing to the advancement of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). And yet, despite an upward trend in employment, women are still underrepresented in these fields, with men outnumbering women in STEM employment, particularly in high-ranking positions.
As we celebrate our 200th Anniversary, we continue our commitment to supporting women in STEM in order to address gender imbalance and retain more talented women in the STEM workforce. Take a look at some of the ways the Academy is supporting, empowering and celebrating women students, researchers and professionals in STEM.
 | Edit-a-thons to Highlight Under-covered STEM StoriesThis November, we hosted our second annual Women in Science Wikipedia Edit-a-thon where Members of our network improved and added to the female scientist presence on Wikipedia. Through these editing campaigns, we aim to create, update, and improve Wikipedia articles pertaining to the lives and works of women scientists, working to highlight undercovered science stories in the encyclopedia. A few of the articles we added and improved this year include: Dorothy Virginia Nightingale, Catherine J. Personius, and Alice Hamilton. See others on our Wikipedia playlist. |
 | Celebrating the Women of the AcademyFrom our very first female Member, Erminnie A. Smith, to our Executive Director for nearly 30 years, Eunice Thomas Miner, women have long played key roles at the Academy. And it doesn't stop there. Many of our Blavatnik Award winners and finalists, the entrepreneurs working in our Proof of Concept Centers, our Members, our employees, and volunteers are women whose excellent work in STEM continues to help shift the gender imbalance in STEM fields. |
 | Mentoring the Next Generation of Women in STEMThe mission of the Academy's Global STEM Alliance is to increase the number and diversity of students in the STEM pipeline. Through our 1000 Girls, 1000 Futures program, girls from communities around the world are connected with female mentors and encouraged to pursue STEM careers. This October, Audrey Lee, a student from the inaugural 1000 Girls, 1000 Futures class, spoke at the Clinton Global Initiative Annual Meeting about why mentoring is critically important to women in STEM. Continuing our efforts to create a powerful network of young women STEM leaders, the Next Scholars program is now recruiting both Scholars and Mentors for the 2017 program year. Women in the program gain access to a supportive network of peers and mentors. Details on the program and how to apply are available here. |