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The Future Looks Bright:    Young Women Explore Science, Engineering,    and Technology Careers

Building a Stronger STEM Pipeline for Women

The U.S. Department of Labor's (DOL) Employment and Training Administration (ETA), National Science Foundation (NSF), National Institutes of Health (NIH), and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) participated in a dynamic panel on advancing girls’ interest and success in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields.

According to Jolene Jesse, NSF’s Program Director for Research on Gender in Science and Engineering, NSF funds basic research and wants to place research results into the hands of practitioners. Through their research, they found that there are still myths about girls and science that make it harder for girls to succeed, such as:

Myth: Classroom interventions that work to increase girls’ interest in STEM run the risk of turning off boys.

Debunking the myth:

• Both girls and boys enjoy hands-on, experiment-based, problem-solving, science and engineering inquiry.


• Female role models work for both girls and boys.

Imagine the Possibilities: International Space Station National Laboratory Education Concept Development Report (National Aeronautics and Space Administration image)

Anngienetta Johnson, Senior Advisor for Safety and Mission Assurance at NASA, said that one of NASA’s primary missions is to inspire the next generation of explorers and that we must market science and engineering to women and girls. NASA has a new project – the International Space Station (ISS) National Laboratory Education Project. The ISS will be fully assembled in 2010 and is the largest international scientific project in history, with 16 nations participating. Students have developed activities aboard the ISS and performed classroom versions of ISS experiments. It is proving to be an outstanding opportunity for young women to participate in fun, hands-on, experiment-based, science and engineering activities and learn about STEM careers.

Women in Nanotechnology (WIN):
Community Collaboration to Expand the Workforce Pipeline

In the “Women in Nanotechnology” (WIN) session, Women’s Bureau Regional Administrator Nancy Chen (Chicago) presented the Bureau's WIN pilot project, in cooperation with the University of Illinois at Chicago Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) program, the College of DuPage, and Truman College.

Mary Newberg, Assistant Professor of Chemistry at the College of DuPage and a WIN mentor, joins WIN participants in the nano lab at the University of Illinois at Chicago. (Women’s Bureau photo)

Nanotechnology is the science and technology of building devices from single atoms and molecules through manipulation of atoms, molecules, and material to form structures on the scale of nanometers. In nanoscale, one nanometer equals one billionth of a meter. A human hair is about 70,000 to 80,000 nanometers thick.

Nanotechnology is the wave of the future. According to Northwestern University’s International Institute of Nanotechnology, it is widely viewed as the most significant technological frontier currently being explored and has been heralded as “the next industrial revolution.” It holds vast promise for innovation in virtually every industry and public concern including health, electronics, transportation, the environment, and national security.

Nanotechnology represents an opportunity for women to obtain higher-paying jobs in a growing field. The Women’s Bureau’s WIN project:

• Recruits women in Chicago-area community colleges;
• Helps them develop specialization in the nanotechnology field; and
• Prepares them to continue their studies in a four-year university and begin a promising career.

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Statements of or attributions to private sector speakers or participants may not necessarily reflect Department views.