InClass

Women are outnumbered by men in STEM jobs and programs.

With companies like Intel and Lockheed Martin, STEM careers are aplenty in our state. In 2010, Arizona had 112,730 jobs in STEM fields, and Phoenix ranked fourth as fastest-growing city in the nation for tech job postings in 2013. The Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce estimates that in 2020 that number will increase to 126,780, a growth rate of 12 percent.

Unfortunately, many women don’t enter or persist in the growing STEM fields. Recently, the White House announced Arizona State University will lead the National STEM Collaborative, a consortium of 19 institutions of higher education and nonprofit partners committed to supporting minority girls and women in STEM fields.

Members of the collaborative will help assemble a tool kit and online workshops, train hiring managers and key personnel in addressing bias, track the experiences and support of women of color in STEM majors, and build a database of programs that help them, according to ASU.

Want to learn more about how to write an effective driving question for your students’ projects?

Join Tony Vincent and Sara Crawford at a workshop that will discuss what makes a meaningful project, and how to align projects with learning standards.