Only 20% of engineering degrees are awarded to women and only 13% of practicing engineers are women (Society of Women Engineers). That's absolutely crazy and really a tragedy. Sexism, Gender bias, Discrimination, Stereotypes, Male Dominated Team Dynamics are all largely the reason the we are holding back our most productive and amazing scientists, young women. It has nothing to do with talent. Nothing to do with ability. We just aren't introducing young girls to science early and often enough, and then the normal affects of our U.S. male dominated systems just take root, and then a young girl has to battle BS for years, in every way, just to have the opportunity to do what they love. It's dumb. We can do better. We have to.
What is most amazing about this, is that 50% of our students at Kids Science Labs are young girls. Annually, we serve over 100,000 students, ages 2-12, at our learning centers around the country, and literally we don't see anything like the poor results coming out of our institutions of learning. To be clear, I'm a dude. I'm not speaking from the experience of a woman going through the struggle. Nope. I'm a 6'4, African-American male from Detroit, who happened to start a business that purely focused on teaching really young kids how their world works, using hands-on science. I'm also a Dad, storyteller, and observer of what is happening in the classroom. I wan to tell you first hand that gender gaps in science interest and ability are results of a really terribly designed system.
I can only imagine the struggle is real for a young girl. Instead of seeing more Jane Goodall (real scientist) and Shuri (fictional scientist), we have you watching severely impaired gender roles on TV, encouraging you to do ballet (nothing inherently wrong except that the same is not true for boys), and giving you all types of overwhelming access to a believe that looking pretty is more relevant than being curious and disruptive with your thinking.
But there is a fix. A really easy one. Give girls early and frequent access to learning what science is, before it becomes a thing that tells them that they aren't. Kids Science Labs is successful in building relationships that get us way past the gender gap in science. And its not just because we are focused on creating a more gender balanced learning center (we are). Instead, its really happening because girls want to experiment, explore, build, mix, and learn at least as much as young boys, and we are accessing them early enough that we can slide under the rules that restrict them in so many other ways. When I think of my creative intelligent and curious daughter, who is now 13, I can only imagine how hard it must feel to have people to assume that she is not as capable as some 13-yr old boy, just because. Our girls love science too, and I mean are often better at it at a young age. We just need to inspire them with more opportunities, more role models, and less empty words. Science is a refinement of everyday thinking. Girls are just as curious, and have as many questions as our boys, so let's give them a real chance. It's not about the science as much as it is about helping all of our kids achieve their potential through critical thinking, creativity, and design.
Research is clear that girls have stronger language, fine motor, gross motor, language skills. This leads to them often outperforming their gender counterparts in hands-on science. At KSL, I see them practice their observation skills, imagine amazing solutions to problems, and thin critically with a perspective that is valid, unique, and desperately needed. So many of us are working hard to fix the problem, but often the platforms are misplaced. Instead of of going after pre-school, toddlers, and early elementary students, we start when we see the first signs of disparity, testing in 3rd and 7th grade. By that time, its too late for most. Not too late like "don't try" but too late like the required energy to combat the momentum is like trying to get us to stop driving our cars to save our planet. It's important, but why not start at 18 months old, because that kid, she needs to be engaged in science.
Of course there are some promising statistics. 51% of medical students are women, 48% of biological and environmental scientists are women, and 30% of the world's STEAM researchers are women. We are making progress. However, our institutions are responsible for creating a structure that doesn't allow young women to reach their potential. I would offer a simple observation. It only takes 1 person to wonder "why" to change the world through their innovative idea. The fewer people we have in science and engineering that are women, the less likely we are to give that 1 person a chance to find the solution that makes life better for all of us.
If we desire to have a real impact on the gender gap in sciences, then we must start engaging young women far earlier than before. This isn't so much about nature vs. nurture as it is about giving young girls a real experience doing real science from the time they are able to walk. For the rest of their lives they will see images that suggest, overwhelming that successful engineers, leaders, and professionals are largely, white, male, unlike them. When my daughter was 2, she was the primary reason that I started Kids Science Labs. She was creative, curious, and willing to experiment to learn. As a Dad, I didn't see a place that I could take her at that age. I feel fortunate to be in a position to help her, and countless other young girls find a comfortable and challenging home to express their curiosity. I hope one day, that our work inspires kids today, to build a better future tomorrow. If I'm lucky, the future will include more women scientists, engineers, and kids who had a better chance to succeed. Give a girl a chance. Ask her a challenging question, do an experiment with her, and by all means, respect her skill. #GirlsLoveScienceToo