http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wamc/local-wamc-687371.mp3
Albany, NY – ENGINEER YOU LIFE -
According to a paper released by the Commission on Professionals
in Science and Technology, from 1950 to the year 2000, growth in
science, technology, engineering and mathematics, STEM occupations,
outpaced the growth of the total labor force. The paper is part of the
Alfred P. Sloan Foundation-funded STEM Workforce Data Project. It
shows the total number of STEM workers, as well as the percentage of
those who are women, minorities, and foreign born. The report shows
women increased from 8% of the STEM workers in 1950 to 26% in 2000.
Despite those gains, women remain underrepresented in STEM relative
to their 47% share of all paid workers. Minorities in STEM occupations
were too few in number to be reliably counted until about 1970. And they continue to be underrepresented in STEM jobs, with the exception of Asians.
The numbers are much lower for women in engineering. So each year
during February and March, there are major efforts and energies focused
on getting more girls and young women interested in engineering. For
instance, these efforts include; Engineers Week, Introduce a Girl to
Engineering Day, programs by the Society of Women Engineers, EngineerGirl.org, and many others.
Some listeners may remember last year on this show, we broadcast a
feature story from Oakland about Techbridge, an afterschool program
that encourages girls in engineering. You can still hear that story at our www.womeninscience.org website. Click on the Powerful Signals button.
This week's calendar features the annual Global Marathon, which is a
24-hour worldwide live online webcast by and about women in engineering.
Just check www.eweek.org. For more about yet another project to get
more women into engineering TBOOK speaks with Leslie Collins, Executive Director of the National Engineers Week Foundation, and newly minted electrical engineer, Tanya Martinez.
Glenn Busby reports. (14:53)
**(Attention Listeners and Program Directors. The website
listeners re referred to in this story to get more information is: www.engineeryourlife.org,)**
WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH / SOFIA KOVALEVSKAYA PROFILE -
This week we conclude our series of profiles about prominent women
in the STEM disciplines with Sofia Kovalevskaya. Kovalevskya was
not only a great mathematician, she was also an advocate of women's
rights in the 19th century. It was her struggle to obtain the best education available which began to open doors for women at universities. Sofia Kovalevskaya was the first woman appointed to a full professorship in
Europe. And her ground-breaking work in math made her male
counterparts reconsider their archaic notions about women in the
sciences. During her career, she published ten papers in mathematics
and physics, plus several literary works. Many of her scientific papers
were the impetus for future discoveries.
Kate Mulgrew narrates. (2:00)