Women in science: We cheer them on, but recruiting and retaining them

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It was a great moment for women in science. In fact, it's a great time for women in science as far as visibility is concerned. STORIES OF POWERFUL STUDIOS IN HEAVY SHOWCASES, WHERE THE REAL-LIFE WOMEN OF "HIDDEN FIGURES" serve as a different kind of superhero for aspiring young minds.

Then, of course, there's the memory of hard-working STEM women that cascade backward from achievements like Bouman's. MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab compared a photo of Bouman among stacks of hard drives to a famous 1969 photo of computer scientist Margaret Hamilton standing for the Apollo Project. These can be mentions of Annie Cannon, Ada Lovelace and other prominent scientific minds throughout history.

Yes, it's a great time for celebrating women in science. Unfortunately, research shows that women in STEM fields face challenges and biases that limit their influence and growth, and may dissuade other women from pursuing STEM professions.

A recent study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences reveals the discouraging connection between parenthood and attrition in STEM fields. STEM employment after their first child.

Erin Cech, an assistant professor of sociology at the University of Michigan and author of the study, said the numbers reveal a problem specific to STEM fields.

"This is an issue in the general interest of STEM employment, and it is not an issue of employment, but it would be an issue of attrition. "Cech told CNN.

"There's a cultural expectation in that you have responsibilities outside your full-time work," she continued.

Hype is good, but practical solutions are needed to overcome biases

However, motherhood is just one lens through which the world of women in STEM fields is examined, and the casting women do not have enough to do it. For instance, the study points out that they are more likely to be involved in higher education than men, regardless of whether they are parents of measurable performance levels or ability.

That's a pretty hard nut to crack, and it's just a good time for the girl. STEM organizations like the National Math and Science Foundation and NASA In fact, in the field of computer science, there are actually fewer women represented in the 1980s.

To Cech, that means more than just accessibility and opportunity.

"Recognition and visibility of women's contirbutions in STEM is incredibly important," she says. "[But] it has not resulted in an influx or retention of women in those fields, in part because these biases run deeper. Because they are less than the kind of overt biases that we tend to think about, these things are more cultural and more difficult to move the needle on. "

Put simply, Cech says, "There is an idea that there is a particular way scientific genius manifests, and often that does not look like a woman."

While women like Bouman, and her countless peers and forebears, it would be possible to shine a little deeper into the picture.

These could include more specific and specific support for women and their specific fields and organizations.

STEM positions after a period of absence or part-time work. It can also include, yes, more support for women and men with children.

Together, they may be working mothers, Wakandan royalty, NASA heroes or one of the thousands of others an environment of parity and respect.

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