Women in STEM: Advancing Equity, Representation, and Opportunity

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“I think of engineers as boys, but since there’s a girl engineer [in my classroom], it opens up my life so I can be one.” Mya, a fifth-grade student in Washington. It’s moments like these that drive Washington STEM as we relentlessly pursue equity and representation in STEM.

In Washington state, roughly 740,000 jobs will be created by 2021 and a third of those jobs are within the STEM fields. The vast majority of those jobs will require competencies in STEM skills. We want to make sure every young girl and woman has the chance to take advantage of this coming wave of opportunity.

The fundamental skills established through a high-quality STEM education will serve those students regardless of their career path. Collaboration, creativity, cultural competency, problem solving, and a firm grasp of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM), will prepare students for a 21st century economy.

And yet, so many young women may not see the STEM fields as places where they belong, let alone an area where they can grow and thrive. That’s why we’ve begun the Notable Women in STEM campaign.

The Notable Women in STEM campaign is one of our many initiatives to make sure STEM careers can be a reality for all students in Washington. We sent out an open call across the state to employers, education institutions, and nonprofits to highlight women who shine in the STEM fields.

These STEM rock stars are the basis for a series of profiles that celebrate the diversity and career paths in STEM that are available to all students in Washington. We know that in many cases students who can see themselves reflected in a career are far more likely to pursue that path. And we want every young girl and woman to know that STEM has a place for them.

Right now, we’re travelling across the state to interview these Notable Women in STEM and to hear their stories and create a profile that is true to who they are. The following examples are just a small slice of the amazing women we’ll be highlighting.

Notable Women in STEM

Tina Asiimwe is a nurse manager at Kaiser Permanente Rainier Medical Clinic. As a nurse manager, she has helped transform the medical center into one of the most improved clinics in Kaiser Permanente Washington. Tina is also a Ugandan immigrant who came to Seattle eleven years ago. She has chartered her own way in STEM and serves as a role model for any young woman thinking of pursuing STEM.

Allison Camper is a robotic engineer at McKinstry. Allison was frequently told how her assumed physical restrictions as a woman would prohibit her ability to work in the engineering and construction fields. Her response? “We just have to think about solving those problems in a different way.” When we speak of creativity in STEM, there’s no better example than Allison.

Supporting Women in STEM

Learn more about local organizations like Washington STEM that rely on funding and partnerships to run their programs and provide real-world experiences to educators and students.
Tap into STEM Education Coalition resources to better understand issues related to STEM in the U.S.

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Original contribution by Washington STEM

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Change the System By Filling In the Middle

Giving Compass' Take: • Geneva Global discusses the concept of the "missing middle," when larger strategy overshadows the on-the-ground operations, and relates it to systems change. • Would you have use for a "systems entrepreneur," as described here — an individual or organization that brings together multiple partners to make sure everything is running as it should? • Here's why systems change and equity go hand-in-hand. There’s a theory that middle children often get the least attention from parents — they neither get the focus of the “firsts” that come with being the eldest sibling nor the coddling that can accompany the baby of the family. I’ve noticed another middle that often gets easily ignored: it’s what I call the “missing middle.” It occurs when the big-picture efforts of those creating new resources, proposing new policies, and championing new partnerships to address an issue don’t mesh with the ground-level work being done by those dealing with the day-to-day realities of life facing those affected. Given the critical part bridging the 'missing middle' in systems development plays, why is it so often overlooked? In large part because it is less appealing, and certainly less rewarding in the short-term. The more complex, entrenched, and multi-faceted a social problem is, the greater the need to change the underlying systems contributing to the problem. I’ve seen a lot of separate top-down or bottom-up efforts, but often those approaches and efforts aren’t coordinated or connected, leading to this missing middle. And what inevitably happens is that the solutions never take hold; they apply a temporary solution to the problem rather than solving it for good. This is where systems entrepreneurs — those organizations and individuals who make systems change possible by bringing together disparate disciplines, interests, and stakeholders — play probably their most important role. Helping ensure all the relevant partners — from government and media to investors and practitioners — are invited to the systems change table is the essential first step. As independent brokers, if you will, systems entrepreneurs make that possible. But then it is crucial that those around the table really understand each other, if their potential synergy is to be realized. The systems entrepreneur plays the role of bridging those gaps. That’s where the role of a systems entrepreneur becomes vital. As an independent voice who can understand the context behind divergent viewpoints, they are in a position to illuminate everyone’s blind spots and be a bridge between disparate people and opinions ... Read the full article about filling the "missing middle" to change systems by Doug Balfour at Geneva Global.

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