SALT LAKE CITY — On International Women's Day, Utah girls are being encouraged to excel in fields that have been primarily male-dominated.
Industries of science, technology, engineering and math are all around us, helping to keep the world running, and yet it can be difficult to inspire girls to take interest in STEM.
Tami Goetz, the Director of the Utah STEM Action Center, is trying to change that.
"One of the big areas that we're trying to focus on in partnership with a lot of community members and school members is looking at the early stages of STEM growth," she explained. "So a lot of our efforts are really focusing on young girls and giving them not only more opportunities, exposure but making sure that we create those opportunities and those learning environments."
In Utah, STEM jobs such as computer science and engineering have seen 20% growth, but those industries are still male-dominated.
"The good news is that we have seen an increase of women entering into STEM, particularly in that undergraduate space," Goetz said. "But not nearly enough to meet the needs of the workforce."
Goetz explained math is usually the "gatekeeper," as many young girls develop math anxiety early on.
"Girls in particular tend to experience math anxiety more than boys and that comes down to a lot of things it's, it's kind of a narrative they're faced with, right," she said. "Girls are bad at math, boys are good and the research just does not support that."
The lack of self-confidence in math for girls tends to develop as early as third grade, Goetz reports.
"By second grade, little boys are already expressing that they like math, they're good at math and by third-grade girls are completely shutting down in math," she said. "They lose their confidence."
In an effort to combat anxieties about math, advocates are intentionally creating experiences to cultivate a positive atmosphere.
"Being able to bring in projects that allow them to build passions around STEM is very important with our girls and boys too," Goetz said. "But more so with girls because of the way they think about their role in the world."
That positive environment carries on for women in college studying STEM industries as advocates hope more mentors step up to guide the next generation.
