Northwest Arkansas School Districts Trying To Get Girls Interested In Science, Technology Jobs

STAFF PHOTO MICHAEL WOODS 
• @NWAMICHAELW 
Tanner Davis, from left, Reece Williams and Noah Wehn, all Southwest Junior High School students, work on a pair of robots Thursday in Springdale. Students from the Vex Robotics Club at Southwest will compete in the Vex Robotic World Championships in Anaheim, Calif., in April.
STAFF PHOTO MICHAEL WOODS • @NWAMICHAELW Tanner Davis, from left, Reece Williams and Noah Wehn, all Southwest Junior High School students, work on a pair of robots Thursday in Springdale. Students from the Vex Robotics Club at Southwest will compete in the Vex Robotic World Championships in Anaheim, Calif., in April.

— Men hold more than 75 percent of science, technology, engineering and math jobs in the United States, but Kaitlin McKenzie and Keeley Napier aren't letting that stop them from pursuing careers in technology.

McKenzie, a junior in the Information Technologies Academy at Springdale High School, said she used to imagine a man typing on a computer in a basement when she thought of careers in technology. Her perspective changed when she took a couple of computer programming classes in ninth grade.

By The Numbers

Science, Technology, Engineering And Math Jobs

52 percent — U.S. jobs held by men in 2009.

48 percent — U.S. jobs held by women in 2009.

76 percent — U.S. jobs in science, technology, engineering and math held by men in 2009.

24 percent — U.S. jobs in science, technology, engineering and math held by women in 2009.

33 percent — How much more money women in science, technology, engineering and math jobs earn than women in other industries.

The numbers were published in 2011 and are the most recent available.

Source: commerce.gov

"I'm a logical thinker," she said. "It's just how my mind works."

In 2009, women held 48 percent of all U.S. jobs, but only held 24 percent of science, technology, engineering and math jobs, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce website.

There is no obvious reason why career fields are dominated by men, said Malia Fredrickson, program manager for aspirations in computing community at the National Center for Women & Information Technology. The center is located on the University of Colorado Campus in Boulder, Colo. Careers in these fields are generally dominated by men, which could cause young women to feel intimidated, Fredrickson said.

It makes sense for more women to work in technology-related careers, because they make up half of the population and half of the technology users, Fredrickson said. It's difficult for company officials to know what women want in technology if there aren't enough women to help design and develop the technology.

An example would be women who get in a car and put their purse on the passenger seat or on the floor, said Kathleen Johnson, Information Technologies Academy instructor at Springdale High School.

"If a woman was designing a car, there would be a place for a purse," she said.

Women bring a different perspective to solving problems in company settings, because they have different experiences than men, said Ajay Malshe, founder of NanoMech, a nanotechnology company in Springdale. It's important for companies to have employees who are diverse in how they think, which can be achieved through diversity in gender or ethnicity.

Women with jobs related to science, technology, engineering and math also earn 33 percent more money than women in other careers, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce website.

If more women worked in these fields, they would earn more money, which in turn would be spent and benefit the economy, Fredrickson said. Officials predict there will be 1.4 million new jobs in the technology industry by 2020. If there aren't enough Americans to fill those jobs, company officials will employ people from outside the country.

Teachers and administrators in local school districts are trying to encourage girls to take classes in these subject areas and get involved in school activities related to science and technology.

Efforts to get girls involved in the Springdale School District varies from school to school, said Marsha Jones, associate superintendent for curriculum, instruction, accountability and education innovation. No matter what schools do, it's important to expose students to the subjects at an early age.

"They'll be awakened to it," she said.

McKenzie and Napier said they are trying to start a summer camp at Springdale High School for middle school girls interested in science, technology, engineering and math. They want to pique the interest of younger students by using hands-on projects. They want to teach them how to use tools like Premier, Photoshop and Hypertext Markup Language.

It's important to expose students to these subjects at a young age, because that's when they are figuring out what they like and are passionate about, said Jenny Gammill, director of kindergarten through 12th grade science and instructional technology for the Fayetteville School District.

"Kids at a young age are naturally curious," she said.

Many schools in Fayetteville have science-related clubs, like a gardening club, as part of their after-school programs, Gammill said. The district also has Camp Invention in the summers for students entering first through sixth grades. Teachers encourage girls to enroll for the camp, which is based on technology and science activities.

Boys naturally want to sign up for technology- and science-related activities, Gammill said. It takes a bit more effort to encourage girls to get involved.

Gammill said she thinks it's difficult to get girls involved and interested in these subjects because most early scientists students hear about were men. It's part of the culture in those career fields.

"It's hard to break stereotypes," she said.

It's also important to expose students to the subjects through hands-on activities, Jones said. Some schools have robotics clubs and teams, where students build robots and compete against teams at other schools.

At least six schools in Springdale and four in Fayetteville have robotics clubs, officials said.

The VEX Robotics Club at Southwest Junior High School in Springdale, has eight members, said Richard Hayward, club mentor. There is one girl in the club.

Kaben Johnson, a ninth-grade member, said it's great to have a girl in the club, because she thinks of solutions to problems that the boys don't.

The three high schools in the Rogers School District have activities to get girls involved in technology and science, according to district officials. Rogers Heritage High School has a Women In Science Club.

Rogers students attended a forum this year called "Girls In IT" sponsored by J.B. Hunt.

Judy Marquess, director of secondary education for the Bentonville School District, did not respond to multiple messages by 3 p.m. Friday.

NW News on 03/17/2014

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