Important points:

Women play a critical role in filling well-paying and in-demand STEM jobs, but they make up just 34 percent of the workforce in this field, according to a new report from YouScience and Ford Next Generation Learning.

The 2024 Female Students and STEM report shows that female students experience significant deficits in STEM starting in middle school and continuing into high school.

The report provides important insights into the career readiness gaps facing female students across the country in a variety of in-demand occupations and offers actionable solutions to close these gaps in STEM careers.

The Career Exposure Gap identifies the discrepancy between students’ skills and interests, uncovering overlooked career options. This analysis is based on anonymized data from 233,000 middle and high school students in the United States collected in 2023.

The report’s key findings show that women experience:

• An 87 percent gap in the advanced manufacturing workforce – a field where 2.1 million jobs are expected to be unfilled by 2030
• An 87 percent disclosure gap in computer and technology occupations; this includes careers such as computer programmers, software developers, information cybersecurity analysts, and more
• A 55 percent gap in the architecture and construction professions; this is problematic as the housing shortage worsens and the industry’s value is expected to increase 32 percent from $580 billion to $2.4 trillion by 2030.
• A 30 percent disclosure gap in health sciences Occupations, including dentistry, where there is a national labor shortage
• A 22% engineering skills gap – the next generation of engineering skills is critical, with nearly one in three engineering jobs at risk of going unfilled each year through at least 2030.

“The persistent career development gaps highlighted in the report underscore the urgent need for improved advice and support for female students in STEM-related fields. Our data-driven findings reveal significant disparities that must be addressed to produce a diverse and skilled workforce prepared for the demands of the future economy,” said Amy Miller-Weiland, vice president of professional services and learning and development at YouScience.

The report contains nine recommendations for supporting female students in STEM, including (all 9 can be found in the report):

1. Suitability measures– a fundamental tool to help students find the college and career path that’s right for them.
2. Vocational academies– the creation of high school programs that focus on specific career fields such as health sciences, engineering and IT, allowing students to tailor their education to their career aspirations.
3. Joint planning between family, educators and counselors to help students navigate their educational and career paths.
4. Interdisciplinary training where schools and districts work together to develop personalized careers and integrated programs that address relevant career fields.

“The solutions described in this report must be implemented immediately. We can no longer overlook young women who have the talent but have not been able to take advantage of these opportunities,” said Cheryl Carrier, executive director of Ford Next Generation Learning. “We now have the knowledge to do better, so we must do it.”

Closing the career opportunity gap for female students requires aptitude assessment to help match each student with individual educational and career opportunities that best match her abilities.

This press release originally appeared online.

Laura Ascione is editorial director at eSchool Media. She is a graduate of the prestigious Philip Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland.

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