Women and Girls in Stem Fields: A Reference Handbook

Written by a respected science educator and advocate for women and girls in STEM fields, this one-stop resource provides a rich overview of efforts to provide women and girls with greater access to educational and career opportunities in traditionally male-dominated STEM fields.

Since the passage of Title IX, the numbers of American women working in STEM fields have increased, particularly in the social and biological sciences. Nonetheless, women continue to be underrepresented in STEM disciplines, accounting for less than a third of the current STEM workforce. When the intersection of sociocultural factors such as race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic background are examined alongside gender, some demographic groups of women continue to lag in terms of representation in all STEM fields. The reasons cited for this continued state of affairs remain hotly debated, even as efforts intensify to break down longstanding gender barriers and bring women and girls into the worlds of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

Women and Girls in STEM Fields provides wide-ranging, complementary coverage of every aspect of the issue, from the historical barriers that confronted generations of American women and girls interested in pursuing careers in various STEM disciplines to the laws and movements that dismantle some of those obstacles. Features include smartly organized chapters on major trends, issues, debates, and historical moments; carefully selected profiles of the key organizations and individuals that have shaped discussions of this subject in Washington, D.C. and across the USA; a suite of original essays from educators, scholars, and women writing about their firsthand experiences in today's STEM world.

Author: Heather Burns Page
Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
Published: 10/17/2024
Pages: 280
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.32lbs
Size: 9.14h x 6.37w x 0.88d
ISBN: 9781440879906


Review Citation(s):
Library Journal 02/01/2025 pg. 93

About the Author
Heather Burns Page has over twenty-four years of experience as a science educator and school leader in the New York City public schools and is the principal of a public IB World School in Queens. Heather earned her doctorate in science education from New York University, her research centered on developing teaching resources to encourage girls in science. As a recipient of the 2015 New York Times "Teachers Who Make a Difference" award, she strives to prepare students to be global citizens and environmental stewards who work to better themselves, their community, and the environment. Heather loves to explore nature through travel and has taken students to Eastern and Western Europe, South Pacific, Central and South America. Heather completed two global study programs in Africa with New York University and circumnavigated Iceland as a 2016 Grosvenor Teacher Fellow in collaboration with National Geographic.