Professional Documents
Culture Documents
2/14/2017
UWRT 1102-040
Topic Proposal
My broader topic for my topic proposal is revolved around woman in STEM careers and
majors. STEM stands for science technology engineering and mathematics. The question I came
up with for this topic was: Why is there such a shortage in woman going into STEM related
careers? As I continued researching it made me think about different ways to go about discussing
this topic. There are multiple views but the two I was focused on including were pay gaps and
gender equality in the work place. A different question that arises from the research I have done
is why are woman turned away from careers and majors in STEM? This question is the most
important I feel in my topic, therefore this will be what my main focus will go to.
through my engineering classes I often feel like an outsider. I am one of the two females in my
intro to engineering course. This is just the first out of many engineering courses I have to go and
there is only one other woman there with me. This can be very intimidating to most women
because they could easily feel out of place in this major. It is common for woman in engineering
to feel in-superior or overlooked by the males in the field. When I do show my accomplishments
in the class, or have circumstances where I know more than the males in the room I am almost
shocked. Being shocked is not a good reaction to have because I should be equal to the males
going into the class, I should not have to prove my knowledge and my skills. There is this barrier
people set making engineering seem like a job for men because STEM is generally male
dominated. After talking to a lot of my friends and other people I have met about engineering I
am surprised by the number of woman that are truly not interest in a STEM career. When I even
Sarah Hoops
2/14/2017
UWRT 1102-040
mention the number of math classes I have to take there is an automatic disconnect from even
thinking about majoring in engineering. Just like any class science related courses are just as
manageable as any other if you are determined enough to succeed. I believe I am different from
the majority because I like the challenge of doing something not everybody thinks they can. I
have stepped away from thinking I cannot be a civil engineer because it is a male dominated
job and I have changed my mind set to if a man can do this, I can do this. I think this is
important for woman of all ages to think about. We should not close our minds to a STEM
related job just because women do not normally go into them. We should take that and say more
woman should try going into STEM related careers. Especially in college, woman should not be
afraid to go into STEM related jobs. There needs to be a bigger pull to get woman in, instead of
The article I chose was called STEM like a woman. When I saw this article I could not
help but be intrigued by the title. The article jumps right into talking about woman and minorities
being a shortage in STEM majors and programs. The STEM workforce has updated there
program goals to include helping to break stereotypes within education and social spheres, and
most importantly, changing the approach to closing the gender gap. (Jezierska, 2016) This
article is all about motivating woman to persevere and follow their chosen path instead of
backing down because they do not feel as though they belong in this male dominated world
(Jezierska, 2016). It then discusses personal experiences woman have had and gives you a
firsthand view on how they got through the struggles they have faced.
This article is very relevant to the topic of supporting woman in STEM careers and fields.
STEM like a women showed that woman in STEM careers are part of the minority. The article
Sarah Hoops
2/14/2017
UWRT 1102-040
aimed to support females in STEM and encouraged something to be done to change the divide.
Careers should not have any stereotypes associated, anyone should be able to do any career they
would like without feeling out of place or feel like they do not belong. Recognizing there is a
problem is the first step towards changing the problem, this emphasizes the importance of letting
This discussion fits perfectly into current discussions of woman STEM. I know that
engineering jobs are always looking to hire females and getting females more interested in
STEM related fields early on. In high school I was in ACE mentoring which stood for
Architecture Construction and Engineering. I was the only female in this club at my high school
and that stood out to the woman in charge. I gave a speech to the school talking about what ACE
has done for me and how it has increased my interest in engineering. After the speech I had many
girls come up to me and ask how to get involved and more of my personal experience. After I
gave my speech the Vice Principle asked if I would like to go to an engineering board meeting
with her to get more involved. This shows there is a push to get females interested especially at
an early age. The schools want to help woman get involved as much as they can and this is
Reference Page
Jezierska, Joanna. STEM LIKE A WOMAN. Proquest, ProQuest LLC, Nov.-Dec. 2016. Web,
14 Feb. 2017.
http://search.proquest.com.librarylink.uncc.edu/docview/1849635056?
OpenUrlRefId=info:xri/sid:wcdiscovery&accountid=14605