Opinion: 541 report cards show that women are still underrepresented in STEM fields
Despite decades of efforts to increase the number of women working in science, technology, engineering, and medicine (STEM), these fields still aren’t tapping into all of the brainpower available to them. That’s the take-home message from more than 500 “report cards” from academic and scientific institutions.
In 2014, one of us (SLS) launched the Initiative on Women in Science and Engineering by convening a working group of leading women — and men — and asking them to identify proven, easy-to-implement strategies to decrease the gender imbalance in STEM fields. One of the seven actionable strategies that emerged from the working group was the institutional Report Card for Gender Equality to evaluate institutions’ commitment to promoting gender equality.
