4 Ways STEM Can Advance Women’s Leadership

The gender gap in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) is widening. For example, 60% of college graduates are now women but they only earn 18% of computer science degrees – a disheartening number quoted by Hillary Clinton at a Silicon Valley conference earlier this week.

As we approach International Women’s Day on March 8th, there’s a compelling reason to celebrate and promote women in STEM: STEM disciplines can be a vehicle to cultivate and enhance women’s leadership. A foundational science degree can be the launching pad for careers in almost any area of society, and the skills learned through scientific endeavours provide many of the important attributes that are highly sought after in leaders.

Below are four key STEM attributes that help develop leadership abilities and skill-sets. Identifying these attributes for young women shows how they can use a STEM education to become a future leader in any field.

Data-driven decisions

The strongest and most effective leaders look at the evidence and use it to support their decisions. Leaders are encouraged to make data-driven decisions. Acquisition, interpretation and analysis of data are also key skills that scientists must learn. They must learn to look at the evidence thoughtfully within the context of what is known in the field and in terms of how the information relates to earlier studies. Some of the greatest scientists are those able to take that data and see a bigger vision, which future experimentation by others proves correct. Leaders are encouraged to make data-driven decisions and to use that evidential basis for bigger visionary thinking.

Collaboration

Science requires the ability to work effectively and co-operatively in teams, and to collaborate alongside colleagues who may be from different disciplines. Interdisciplinary collaboration and team work are key elements of modern science. The ability to navigate through different disciplinary worlds and interpret various disciplinary dialects, in order to find common ground and goals, is an essential ability that effective leaders should have.

Entrepreneurial thinking

As an academic scientist of more than 20 years, I have been responsible for strategic planning (also known as writing research grants) and resource management (which usually means figuring out how to distribute meagre research funds from multiple sources to cover the costs of research supplies and the stipends and salaries of students and staff). So I am both HR and Finance for my own small enterprise (research group). I am also Media and Communications, because I need to write up my research findings and publish them. Sometimes this involves multiple iterations of a manuscript (long hours in front of a screen) and then careful representations of the data in formats that most effectively present the information. I am also my own PR because I must go out and present my research findings to a diversity of audiences. I must communicate my findings – as someone once said to me: Science is not complete until it is communicated. Communicated to everyone - not just a tiny group of subject matter experts, but broader society, who supports my research through federal or provincial granting agencies and through their support of public universities. As a scientist, I’ve already gained valuable experience in running a full operation, which makes me entrepreneurial, an attribute highly sought-after in today’s leaders.

Long-term planning

Scientific research and study can take a long time. Field biologists, for example, may run experiments for years as they watch and measure populations and eco-systems. Research projects and programs require careful and meticulous long-term planning, understanding of budgets, outputs and even human resource implications. Being an effective leader also requires an understanding of the short-term and long-term implications of a strategy or initiative and the mechanisms and needs that will be required to make it happen.

Science is an amazing, fun and challenging discipline that seeks to understand the world and our place in it. The skills learned as a scientist will equip young women to become leaders in almost every sector of society and thus, with the support of strong networks, champions and other leaders, STEM can be a vehicle for the development and promotion of women as leaders.