Where are the Girls in STEM?

It’s no news that the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics
(STEM) sector is gender biased at all levels, in schools, workplaces and
academia. Many reasons have been identified why few women attend STEM
education, e.g. the organization of STEM education, institutional cultures,
family influence, community groups and models, the impact of peers, the
media and popular culture. Public actions to change this situation have been
taken, for example to influence young girls during compulsory schooling and
to initiate events like ‘Girls in ICT Days’. These initiatives draw the girls’
attention to the diverse possibilities in STEM education and jobs. Female role
models from the technical sector have been utilised in order to break down
stereotypes and open up girls’ minds to the world of technology. Although
more women have now completed PhDs and are in faculty positions in STEM
education at university level, development is slow and women are less often
promoted and receive fewer grants than their male contemporaries.
In this paper we will give an overview of the situation in Iceland and
present results from a survey in which female university computer science
students were asked to outline their reasons for choosing STEM education.