Strong, Talented, Empowered woMen:

Valeria Williams, Ph.D.Heather Annulis, Ph.D.

October 12, 2019

Experiences of Women Enrolled in Postsecondary CTE STEM Programs

WHY DO WOMEN FAIL TO PERSIST in CTE STEM PROGRAMS?

Respond to pollev.com/valeriawilli977 Text valeriawilli977 to 22333

Females occupy jobs in less than 25% of STEM related careers (Glass, Sassler, Levitte, & Michelmore, 2013).

Evolving technology and global competitiveness creates a need for the United States and other countries to ensure citizens participate in STEM careers (Dennehy & Dasgupta, 2017; Ku & Capolupo, 2014).

Focusing on the persistence of females in male-dominated STEM fields may encourage females to enter STEM programs of study (Wang & Degol, 2017).

Diversity through female participation in STEM will help fill America’s workforce needs (Chubin, May, & Babco, 2013).

WHY STUDY the PERSISTENCE of WOMEN in

CTE STEM PROGRAMS?

PROBLEM

Cease STEM program gender designations.

Low persistence rates among females in STEM creates alarm as females fail to persist at a rate higher than their male counterparts in STEM programs (Toven, Fitzgerald, Berber, & Hasson, 2015).

The lack of females in STEM causes a gap in potential human capital as the United States strives to remain a global competitor (Baber, 2015; Drew, 2012).

WOMEN IN NON-TRADITIONAL EMPLOYMENT

VIDEO HERE

QUESTION

What have you observed as BARRIERSto women persisting in CTE STEM programs?

OBJECTIVES

Identify enablers to persistence for women in CTE STEM programs

Discuss how to begin the change process for women in CTE STEM

ENABLERS

Determination

ENABLERS

Support Systems

ENABLERS

Networking Opportunities

Create Change

be the change

you wish to see in the

world

Create Change

be the change

you wish to see in the

classroom or institution

Kotter – THE BIG OPPORTUNITY

CREATE A SENSE OF URGENCY

GET PEOPLE’S ATTENTION!

EMMERSE PEOPLE IN INFORMATION ABOUT THE CHANGE

DISCUSS WAYS TO SOLVE THE PROBLEMS PEOPLE IDENTIFY WITH THE CHANGE

EMPOWER PEOPLE TO SOLVE THE “PROBLEM” OF CRIME AND MYSTERY NOVELS

CREATE A SENSE OF URGENCY

FORM A GUIDING COALITION

Choose key players, especially staff-level managers

Choose proven leaders who can drive the change process

Need both management and leadership skills

FORM A GUIDING COALITION

College Administration Responsibilities:

Define a “culture of safety” aligned with expectations, core values, and shared beliefs.

Inform the institution of the values and evaluate the culture.

Properly communicate the commitment to define the culture.

Provide supportive actions for fear, anger, and resistance.

Encourage discussion, dissent, disagreement, debate … keep the conversation going!

Tell people what you know―and what you don’t know.

Value resisters.

They clarify the problem and identify other problems that need to be solved first.

Their tough questions can strengthen and improve the change.

They may be right―the idea may require more thought!

COMMUNICATE THE VISION

“I HAVEN’T F A I L E D . I ’ V EJ U S T F O U N D

1 0 , 0 0 0 W A Y S T H AT W O N ’ T

W O R K . ”- T H O M A S E D I S O N

ENABLE ACTION THROUGH REMOVING BARRIERS

Develop a shared sense of purpose

Align structures with vision and goals

Train employees so they have the desired skills and attitudes

Align information systems and personnel with the vision and goals

Confront high-level resisters

ENABLE ACTION THROUGH REMOVING BARRIERS

Provide further impetus for change

Provide positive feedback --Further builds morale and motivation

Lessons learned help in planning next goal

Create greater difficulty for resisters to block change

Provide leadership with evidence of success

Build momentum--Helps draw in neutral or reluctant supporters

GENERATE SHORT -TERM WINS

• Acknowledge hard work• Celebrate successes and accomplishments• Reaffirm the vision• Bring people together toward the vision (females persisting in STEM)• Acknowledge past behavior• Develop long-term goals and plans• Provide tools and training to reinforce new behaviors• Reinforce and reward the new behaviors• Create systems and structures that reinforce new behaviors• Prepare people for the next changes.

SOLIDIFYING IMPROVEMENTS

AVOIDING ORGANIZATIONALCHANGEPITFALLS• Develop action steps for stabilizing, reinforcing, and

sustaining the change.

• Develop performance measures to continually monitor the results from the change and to explore opportunities for further improvements

• Make adjustments to the change vision and strategy to reflect new learning and insights

• Challenge people to be accept new challenges and expectations for future change

QUESTION

What ACTIONS can YOU take to transform your education environment

to ENABLE women to persist in CTE STEM persistence?

INSTITUTIONALIZING NEW RECRUITMENT STRATEGIES Make learning fun!

Sell the program benefits…you can make a difference!

Introduce female role models.

Create an online presence.

Show diversity in marketing.

CONTACT I NFORMATI ON

Heather Annulis, Ph.D.

Heather.Annulis@usm.edu

Associate Director School of Interdisciplinary Studies

and Professional Development Professor

Human Capital Development

The University of Southern Mississippi

228.214.3494

Valeria Williams, Ph.D.

Valeria.Williams@.......

DirectorCareer and Technical Programs

Mississippi Community College Board

662-820-7102

REFERENCES

Chubin, D. E., May, G. S., & Babco, E. L. (2013). Diversifying the engineering workforce. Research Journal for Engineering Education, 94(1), 73–86. https://doi.org/10.1002/j2168-9830.2005.tb00830.x

Dennehy, T. C., & Dasgupta, N. (2017). Female peer mentors early in college increase women’s positive academic experiences and retention in engineering. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 114(23), 5964–5969. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1613117114

Glass, J. L., Sassler, S., Levitte, Y., & Michelmore, K. M. (2013). What’s so special about STEM? A comparison of women’s retention in STEM and professional occupations. Social Forces, 92(2), 723–756. https://doi.org/10.1093/sf/sot092

Kotter, J. P. (2008). A sense of urgency. Boston, MA: Harvard Business PressKu, W. A. & Capolupo, A. (2014). Exploring unique careers in STEM. The Elementary STEM Journal. Retrieved from https://www.questia.com/

Wang, M.-T., & Degol, J. L. (2017). Gender gap in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM): Current knowledge, implications for practice, policy, and future directions. Educational Psychology Review, 29(1), 119–140. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-015-9355-x