By Dr. Cristal Glangchai, author of VentureGirls: Raising Girls to Be Tomorrow’s Leaders
I am an outlier in my professional life, but I shouldn’t be. As a woman engineer, I’m outnumbered by men 5:1. As the female CEO of a tech start-up, the discrepancy is even larger at 20:1. In fact, at present, women only comprise 29% of the science and engineering workforce. Yet it is predicted that 65% of children today will grow up to have jobs that currently we cannot even imagine. Enabled by innovation, many of these new opportunities will be in STEM fields – coveted positions such as astrophysicists, mathematicians, and engineers will become commonplace. Although this future may feel far away, it is never too early to start preparing our young girls to meet the challenges of our increasingly technological world. We must ask ourselves now: what can we do to help empower our daughters to pursue careers in traditionally male-dominated fields?
The effort to keep girls interested in “male-dominated” subjects must begin early on. Studies show that STEM is losing girls at every stage. In elementary school, about 74% of girls are interested in science and math, and they excel at it. However, by the time they get to high school and college, only 14% of girls are still interested in STEM careers. But why? Research indicates that at just five years old, our daughters are naturally visionary, creative, and unafraid to take risks. They allow themselves to be driven by their intellectual curiosity. They are bold, brilliant, and fearless. And then they begin to doubt themselves.
So, what is it that transforms our inquisitive geniuses into the timid children who hide in the back of the class to avoid raising their hands? The answer lies with societal pressures and an archaic system, so intrinsic to our culture that we no longer recognize that we are a part of it. As parents, the best thing we can do for our girls is teach them to break free from stereotypes and follow their inventive passions from an early age. This is a topic I discuss in greater detail in my new book, VentureGirls: Raising Girls to be Tomorrow’s Leaders (Harper, 2018). However, there are things every parent can do to help their daughters continue to thrive in science, math, technology, and astrophysics, despite the stereotypes at play.
1. Avoid Letting Your Daughters Fall Prey to “Nurtured Apprehension”
When boys hit setbacks in particularly difficult math or science topics, their parents and teachers push them until they succeed. Yet when girls hit these same roadblocks, they’re often allowed to opt out or told that the subject “isn’t for them.” This is how our girls develop what I call a “nurtured apprehension” to pursuing STEM topics. Rather than being encouraged to overcome obstacles, they are coddled into avoiding them. This is where the catastrophe begins.
I’ll never forget crying in a bathroom stall when I failed my first geometry test in junior high. I went home and told my dad that the class was too hard, and I wanted to transfer to an easier course. But rather than allow me to give up, he hired a tutor for me, so that I could improve. He told me that I could be anything I wanted to be – but I would have to work hard for it. As such, I was able to avoid the nurtured apprehension that plagues so many young girls. That message has stuck with me ever since, and it is something I have instilled in my own children.
2.Redefine Failure as a Cause for Celebration
Failure is a process; it yields information. Yet girls have been taught to strive for perfection. This almost compulsive desire has been instilled in them, while boys have traditionally been raised with a “you win some, you lose some” mentality. The sooner our daughters realize that the only way to truly fail is to learn nothing from their failures, the less likely they will be to opt out of STEM fields. Just because one experiences failure, does not mean that she has to define herself as a failure. The key to getting your daughters comfortable with the notion of failing is to teach them to think like entrepreneurs.
For girls, entrepreneurship brings science and technology to life. This is what we pride ourselves on at my non-profit, VentureLab, an organization that is helping to create the next generation of innovators and change-makers through entrepreneurial learning. In every entrepreneurial class or camp, we run, the instructors ensure that there will be plenty of frustrating, enlightening, and even laughable teachable moments. We recognize the need to create an environment where failure is not only tolerated but even celebrated. An “epic fail” might elicit laughter so intense, we have to hold our sides. Sometimes, to lighten the mood, we break out New Year’s Eve noisemakers and cans of carbonated water to spray at the team. This helps teach the children that failure isn’t only educational; it can be fun!
Entrepreneurship instills in girls a sense of confidence that they can tackle increasingly large problems and turn their ideas into reality. This lesson doesn’t just benefit girls – all young students learn and thrive in entrepreneurial programs. By teaching boys and girls to follow their dreams, they learn that everyone is capable. In this way, entrepreneurship and STEM go hand-in-hand. A child who is ready to conquer any trial that comes their way is one who will not shy away from a difficult subject in school. It is a child who will grow into a forward-thinking adult with the power to be successful in the career of their choosing.
I believe that no matter a girl’s age, background, or experience, she has the power to change the world. Let’s now empower the girls – who are tomorrow’s young women and leaders – to enter any field and take on any challenge. Let’s cultivate entrepreneurial traits to solve the female empowerment gap and develop a world where both women and men have equal opportunities to create the future through STEM.
