Since its founding in 1881, AAUW has been committed to making the dream of higher education a reality for women. AAUW’s 2007-2009 Public Policy Program reaffirms our commitment to "a strong system of public education that promotes gender fairness, equity, and diversity….and advocates increased support for, and access to, higher education for women and other disadvantaged populations."1
The shortage of American scientists threatens our nation’s ability to compete and innovate in the coming years, especially as the outsourcing of jobs to, and importing of science from, other nations continues to grow. By 2010, one in four new jobs will be "technically oriented," or involve computers.2 However, women still lag far behind in earning computer technology degrees and working in computer technology-related professions. High school girls represent only 17 percent of computer science Advanced Placement (AP) test takers.3 College-educated women earn only 29.1 percent of bachelor's degrees in mathematics and computer science (down from 39.3 percent in 1984) and 24.7 percent of doctorate degrees in mathematics and computer science.4 If women and members of other traditionally underrepresented groups joined the STEM workforce in proportion to their representation in the overall labor force, the shortage of STEM professionals would disappear.5
AAUW supports promoting and strengthening science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education, especially for girls and other underrepresented populations. These efforts will help increase America’s competitiveness by reducing gender barriers that deter women from pursuing academic and career goals in STEM fields.
For more information, call 202/785-7793 or e-mail VoterEd@aauw.org.
AAUW Public Policy and Government Relations
1 AAUW. (July 2007). 2007 – 09 AAUW Public Policy Program. Retrieved December 6, 2007, from http://www.aauw.org/advocacy/issue_advocacy/upload/2007-09-PPP-brochure.pdf.
2 AAUW, Commission on Technology, Gender, and Teacher Education. (2000). Tech-Savvy: Educating Girls in the New Computer Age. Retrieved January 7, 2008, from http://www.aauw.org/research/upload/TechSavvy.pdf.
3College Board. (2007). Program Summary Report. Retrieved December 10, 2007, from http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/public/repository/2007_Program_Summary_Report.pdf.
4National Science Foundation, Division of Science Research Statistics. (January 2007). Science and Engineering Degrees: 1966-2004. (NSF 07-307). Retrieved December 11, 2007, from http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/nsf07307/content.cfm?pub_id=3634&id=2 .
5Congressional Commission on the Advancement of Women and Minorities in Science, Engineering and Technology Development. (2000). Land of Plenty: Diversity as America’s Competitive Edge in Science, Engineering and Technology. Retrieved December 10, 2007, from http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2000/cawmset0409/cawmset_0409.pdf.
