E Q U A L R I G H T S A D V O C AT E S
Women in STEM
PROGRESS AND TARGETS
INTRODUCTION
Equal Rights Advocates has been advocating for women and girls since 1974.
Our work over four decades has focused on providing economic security for
women by ensuring that they have equal access to education and jobs and
fair treatment at work – this includes ensuring access to highly paid and stable jobs in male-dominated fields. Women seeking entry and success in science, technology, engineering, mathematics (STEM) and related fields today
face a critical crossroad.
While women certainly are making strides in this area (more women tech
CEOs, increased rates of women declaring STEM-related majors, etc.) women
are still the minority in these fields and they are still facing traditional challenges: Discrimination and harassment, pay inequity, and retaliation following pregnancy and/or family medical leave. Lack of opportunity also presents a hurdle for many women in STEM.
In this complicated moment where women are both breaking new ground in
the tech world and still facing significant barriers and underrepresentation in
STEM fields, it’s important to take inventory: what gains have women made,
and what problems still need to be addressed?
THE PROMISE OF STEM: WHY TECH AND OTHER STEM JOBS MATTER
High-Power Women in Tech Are Catching the Public Eye
There can be no doubt that it has been a big year for Women in
Tech: Marissa Mayer was named CEO of a major tech company, a
significant milestone made even more significant by the fact that
she was also the first pregnant CEO. Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg was named the first woman on Facebook’s corporate board
of directors. These visible and media-savvy STEM leaders have
the capacity to change public perceptions about what leadership
looks like in the tech industry and other STEM fields.
Tech Jobs Pay Well
Median earnings in STEM occupations tend to be higher, on average, than earnings in the workforce
overall. This is true for both male and female workers. A Census Bureau report released on October 10,
2012 tallied up the median earnings for different bachelor degree holders and found that engineering
majors have the highest median earnings, making an average of $92,000 a year. In contrast, education,
fine and visual arts, and communications majors earn an average of $50,000 to $60,000. Note that the
fields of degree associated with the highest median earnings for women were the same as those for
men, with median earnings of engineering majors being highest for both. However, women earned less
than men for every field of degree.
The Gender Wage Gap is Smaller in STEM Fields
Recent research shows that women’s earnings are about
one-third higher in STEM jobs in comparison to women’s
earnings in non-STEM work. In 2009, women overall had
median annual earnings of $35,633, whereas women’s
median annual earnings in select STEM fields ranged from
$41,091(for engineering technicians) to $71,944 (for electrical and electronics engineers). The gender wage gap
does exist in STEM fields, with women earning 14 percent
less than men, but this gap is smaller than the 21 percent
gap found in non-STEM fields. Thus, tackling occupational
segregation by increasing women’s representation in
STEM occupations (and other male-dominated occupations) is an important part of shrinking the gender wage
gap.
THE GENDER-WAGE GAP
In non-STEM fields women earn
21% less than men
In STEM fields women earn
14% less than men
THE PROMISE OF STEM: WHY TECH AND OTHER STEM JOBS MATTER
STEM Majors are More Likely to Find (and Keep) Full-Time Jobs
The Census Bureau report also found that people who majored in a science and engineering field, computers, mathematics, statistics, or engineering were the most likely to report working full-time, year-round
and among the least likely to report that they did not work at all. In
contrast, arts, humanities, and other fields had lower rates of full-time,
year-round employment. Less than half of those who majored in literature and languages (46.0 percent) or visual and performing arts (48.3
percent) were employed full-time, year-round. STEM occupations are
among the fastest growing in the U.S. economy – while overall employment is projected to increase by 10 percent between 2008 and 2018,
some STEM careers are expected to expand by 20 or even 30 percent.
Women are Vital to Tech Success
New research from Dow Jones found that venture-backed companies that include females as executives
are more likely to succeed than companies with only male executives. According to the report, companies have a greater chance of either going public, operating profitably or being sold for more money
than they raised when they have females acting as founders, board members, C-level officers, vice presidents and/or directors. At successful companies, the median proportion of female executives was 7.1%;
at unsuccessful companies, 3.1%. Data analyzed by
Catalyst reveals that between 2004 and 2008 the top
quartile of U.S. companies with the highest percentage Venture-backed companies that include FEMALE
of women directors outperformed companies in the
quartile with the lowest percentage by 26%
(measured by return on invested capital).
EXECUTIVES are more likely to succeed than
companies with only male executives.
Women now constitute a substantial portion of highly talented labor – they have surpassed men in college attendance , attainment of bachelor’s and master’s degrees and graduate school enrollment
(accounting for 59 percent of graduate school enrollment in 2008), and earn more than one-third of new
MBAs. By 2019, women are projected to account for nearly 60 percent of total undergraduate enrollment. A recent report by the Committee for Economic Development warns, “Companies that fail to fully
utilize this labor talent will limit their own growth and opportunities for economic gain.” Women also
flex some serious consumer muscle, accounting for 85% of all consumer purchases in the United States
and are increasingly part of a business’s employee and supplier base. Companies would be wise to consider the value women can add to corporate deliberations because of their ability to connect with consumers, employees and other stakeholders.
WOMEN IN STEM: THE TARGETS AHEAD
The facts suggest tremendous promise for women in STEM. Looking ahead, Equal
Rights Advocates suggests the following targets to address current problems
impeding the progress of women in STEM.
Improve the Pipeline
Not enough women are studying Computer Science and Engineering. Although women in the U.S.
make up a greater proportion of college graduates than men (including at the associate degree level),
women are significantly underrepresented in many fields of study, often those fields which correspond
with the highest earnings. According to an April 2012 report examining gender segregation in fields of
study at community colleges, women constitute 56.8 percent of all people with associate degrees, and
earned 62.1 percent of all associate degrees in the 2008–2009 academic year. However, men comprise
at least seventy percent of graduates in engineering, mathematics, and computer science – fields that
correspond with the highest median annual earnings. Women accounted for 12% of U.S. college graduates in computer science last year, down from 14 percent five years earlier. Although women comprise
48% of the U.S. workforce, they hold only 24% of science, engineering, technology, and math positions,
according to government statistics.
Although more women are starting web-based tech companies and more women are working in such
tech companies, they are more likely to work in non-technical roles like financial management or marketing, rather than in the “hard” engineering side. This is a problem in an industry where technical employees are often perceived as more valuable than non-technical employees. Katherine Losse, former
Facebook staffer number 51 attested to this problem in a recent interview with Forbes. When
asked if Mark Zuckerberg treated female employees differently, she explained, “… it isn’t quite that
he treated female employees differently, as that
he treated technical employees differently than
non-technical employees. And most of the technical employees were men, so that had the effect
of making the company feel a bit like a two-tiered
system, with technical guys at the top.” Unless
more women start studying and majoring in computer science and engineering, this two-tiered
system is likely to continue.
ERA is cultivating this next generation of STEM leaders with its recent launch of ERA’s Student Teen Advisory Board. We are drawing young women from diverse communities and diverse interests to partner
with us on education and outreach efforts to female students. Visit our website to learn more at
www.equalrights.org.
WOMEN IN STEM: THE TARGETS AHEAD
Get More Women On Top
Women are underrepresented in leadership and on corporate boards. In June 2012, Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg was named the first woman on Facebook’s corporate board of directors. In
the months leading up to this decision, activist groups and shareholders criticized Facebook for its lack
of board diversity — most notably, the lack of a single women among its all male, all white directors.
Sadly, Facebook is not alone. Many of the most prominent and most influential tech companies in Silicon
Valley are failing when it comes to gender equity in corporate leadership. According to a recent Forbes
article, Pandora, Zillow, Zynga and Splunk’s boards are “no-girls-allowed,” Apple, Groupon and LinkedIn
have only one woman board member, and longtime tech company Adobe Systems Inc. doesn’t have any
women directors.
According to a recent report by the Committee for Economic Development, a DC-based policy group that focuses on business, the
percentage of women on U.S. corporate boards has been stuck at
around 11-12% over the last decade, despite the fact that there
are plenty of women who are qualified to fill board seats in the
Fortune Top 500 companies.
“NO GIRLS ALLOWED”
Pandora, Zillow, Zynga, Splunk and
Adobe have all-male boards, while
Apple, Groupon, and LinkedIn each
only have one female director.
Cultivate Women With Potential
Women in Tech lack mentors. According to Global Chief Executive at Ernst & Young James Turley,
women are often overlooked in traditional means of board recommendations, which is usually through
word of mouth networking. Turley asserts that sponsorship, a more aggressive cousin of mentorship
involving advocating for the advancement of high-potential individuals in their careers, can play an important role. By stepping up for high-potential women, sponsors can help provide access to the experiences needed for corporate board membership. When around half of corporate board appointments are
made through word of mouth connections, fighting for high potential women is a big deal, for both the
individual woman and the corporation.
Two female computer scientists recently teamed up to create a program to address the shortage of mentors for women in tech. Harvey Mudd College President Maria Klawe and Piazza Technologies Inc.
founder Pooja Sankar created a program called WitsOn (Women in Technology Sharing Online) to help
connect women who are pursuing computer and science degrees with mentors in the industry.
The good news is that this target is within the reach of most women who have landed STEM-related
jobs. They can teach by example and make efforts to connect with younger women in their companies
seeking a similar path.
WOMEN IN STEM: THE TARGETS AHEAD
Implement Best Practices to Ensure Equity and Compliance With the Law
Discrimination is impacting some workplaces: This year brought major lawsuits against two Bay
Area investment firms (Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers and Pantheon Ventures) alleging that the
firms discriminated against female employees. The merits of those claims remain unresolved. However,
the suits emphasize the importance of implementing best practices when it comes to handling discrimination and leave matters in STEM-related fields.
Equal Rights Advocates’ Legal
Equal Rights Advocates operates a toll-free hotline through which
Advice and Counseling Hotline
we offer free legal advice and counseling to callers from across the
1-800-839-4372
country. We have received calls from women and men who work
in the tech industry that shed light on some of the larger patterns
of issues in this industry. One woman called because her boss at web-based entertainment company
was unaware of the company’s legal obligations to reinstate her to the same position upon her return
from maternity leave. The caller suggested her company would benefit greatly from a company-wide
training on pregnancy leave, family medical leave, and related issues. This caller raises an important
concern – in an industry that’s generally flush with resources and venture capital, more resources
should be devoted to educating managers, decision makers, and the workers they oversee about basic
rights relating to pregnancy and leave time.
Another issue affecting women in the tech industry is stereotyping, particularly
stereotyping against women who are pregnant or who are mothers. One caller
who worked as a manager at one of the major tech giants called because her supervisor suddenly started decreasing her responsibilities and making it difficult
for her to perform her job after learning she was pregnant. Her supervisor told
her that mothers are supposed to stay home with their children and complained
about the amount of leave she planned on taking. In an industry where women
are underrepresented, such gender stereotypes are often a problem for women,
particularly when they become pregnant, take maternity leave, or otherwise deviate from what’s seen as
the “ideal worker norm” – i.e. a worker who never takes any time off for family, child care, medical or
other reasons.
STEM fields are not immune to glass ceiling claims. For example, at Google, several women were allegedly pushed out of Larry Page’s inner circle of advisors during a recent company reorganization. However, Google and other tech companies are embracing innovative strategies to try to address these problems. For example, Google has created algorithms to try to pinpoint where women are dropping out in
both the hiring and promotions processes, and is using this information to implement measures like
making sure prospective hires meet other women during their interviews and extending the length of
maternity leaves. These measures are allegedly producing results, and we hope that other tech companies will adopt proactive measures to address gender inequity.
ABOUT EQUAL RIGHTS ADVOCATES
Equal Rights Advocates is one of the leading women’s rights organizations in
the country. Through education and outreach, policy and legislative work, and
impact litigation, ERA has empowered women and girls since 1974 through dynamic forms of advocacy – from mentoring young girls, to providing a toll-free
advice and counseling hotline, to working with educators and employers to improve equity and best practices, to engaging in cutting-edge litigation to enforce
civil rights.
Equal Rights Advocates has three campaigns to help women and girls at work and school:
Equal Rights in Education
Equal Rights for Marginalized Women Workers
Equal Rights for Working Families.
See ERA’s website at www.equalrights.org to learn more.
ERA has most recently launched a series of events and projects aimed at eliminating
obstacles to entry and advancement for women in tech companies and other STEM fields.
If you have experiences to share or to get involved in our work, please contact
Hope Ratner at [email protected].
For free and confidential legal counseling,
please contact ERA Advice and Counseling Hotline at 800.839.4372.
Connect with Equal Rights Advocates!
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/equal-rights-advocates
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/equalrightsadvocates
Twitter: http://twitter.com/EqualRightsAdv
Facebook: http://facebook.com/EqualRightsAdvocates
SOURCES
This Report was written by
ERA Staff Attorney Jamie Dolkas and ERA Executive Director Noreen Farrell
Institute for Women’s Policy Research, Increasing Opportunities for Low-Income Women and Student
Parents in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math at Community Colleges, Cynthia Costello at page 1
(2012) (available at http://www.iwpr.org/publications/pubs/increasing-opportunities-for-low-incomewomen-and-student-parents-in-science-technology-engineering-and-math-at-community-colleges).
U.S. Census Bureau, Field of Degree and Earnings by Selected Employment Characteristics: 2011, Camille
Ryan, American Community Survey Briefs, October 2012 at page 3 (available at: http://www.census.gov/
prod/2012pubs/acsbr11-10.pdf). See also NPR Morning Edition, Graduating http://
www.npr.org/2012/10/11/162691347/the-last-word-in-business?sc=17&f=3.
Institute for Women’s Policy Research, Fact Sheet: The Gender Wage Gap By Occupation, page 1 (April
2012) (available at http://www.iwpr.org/publications/pubs/the-gender-wage-gap-by-occupation-1).
Id. at page 1.
Venture Capital Dispatch, Women Executives Make Venture-Backed Companies More Successful: Study,
10/4/12, Deborah Gage.
Forbes, The New Case for Women on Corporate Boards: New Perspectives, Increased Profits, Kate Taylor,
6/26/2012 (available at http://www.forbes.com/sites/katetaylor/2012/06/26/the-new-case-forwomen-on-corporate-boards-new-perspectives-increased-profits/).
Fulfilling the Promise: How More Women on Corporate Boards Would Make America and American Companies More Competitive, Committee for Economic Development, page 7 (2012) (available at: http://
www.ced.org/component/blog/entry/1/810).
Forbes, Why Are There So Few Women In IT and Telecoms? Tim Worstall, Oct. 2, 2012 (citing the Computing Research Association). Available at http://www.forbes.com/sites/timworstall/2012/10/02/why-arethere-so-few-women-in-it-and-telecoms/.
Bloomberg, Women Flock to Startups While Trailing in Computer Science: Tech, By Ari Levy and Willow Bay
- Oct 1, 2012 (available at: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-10-02/women-flock-to-startupswhile-trailing-in-computer-science-tech.html
Forbes, Inside The Social Network: Facebook Staffer No. 51 Cashes Out, Tells All, Meghan Casserly,
7/25/2012 (available at: http://www.forbes.com/sites/meghancasserly/2012/07/25/inside-the-socialnetwork-katherine-losse-boy-kings-facebook/2/).
Forbes, Sheryl Sandberg Named To Facebook Board. Finally. Meghan Casserly, 6/25/2012 (available at:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/meghancasserly/2012/06/25/sheryl-sandberg-named-to-facebook-boardfinally/).
New York Times, In Google’s Inner Circle, A Falling Number of Women, Claire Cain Miller, August 22, 2012.
Id.