Professional Documents
Culture Documents
12/5/18
Pd:2
1.) Koehler, E. (2008, January 01). Women in STEM fields still need support. Retrieved from
https://www.laserfocusworld.com/articles/print/volume-44/issue-1/columns/comment/women-in-
stem-fields-still-need-support.html
This exploratory article shares how the lack of female role models in STEM related fields
has caused the younger female generation from continuing on the same path. It also shares how
many STEM fields are dominated by men causing underrepresentation in fields such as physics
and engineering while biology has seen a spike with around 62% of women having a bachelor’s
degree in biology. The article also discusses why it is so hard to attract more women into STEM
fields because many females in college do major in one of the STEM fields but, many end up
changing their majors. It also discuss apathy on towards STEM subjects descends upon females
early in life and so this causes stereotyping at a young age which then does play a part on why
many girls do not go into STEM fields. The article also mentions ways that STEM corporations
could keep female employees is by offering more family-friendly policies because one of the
main reasons that women leave their jobs is because of family responsibilities. This article's main
focus is on how to improve on closing the gender gap and to continue support women in their
The author, Elka Koehler, is qualified to discuss to discuss the topic of STEM fields
needing more women because her experience includes being a principal optical engineer at
Science, the Optical Society of America, and the International Society for Optical Engineering.
Her contact information is included in the article. Although written in 2008, it still falls within
the 5 to 10 year gap. This source might be aged but, it is still relevant because STEM fields have
continued to have a huge gender gap between men and women and though the data has probably
changed there is still a noticeable gap. Even though this article has some bias to it, the author still
presents claims, reasoning, and evidence to show why that opinion is valid and credible. For
policies and how that might not benefit women because, companies might assume that they do
not want to work and so when asked to use the family-friendly policies it could cause penalties
such as fewer promotions. The information contained in the source can be verified elsewhere.
The author corroborated with SPIE Women in Optics (WiO), to promote personal and
professional growth for women. This corroboration is seen her publication and it was used to
offer more opportunity and diversity through community building and networking is also used to
encourage young women to choose optics as a career. Their email is listed in her publication.
The purpose of this article is to is to increase more young girls and women in to STEM related
fields. The author addresses this because the only way for this to happen is to have all the
women that are STEM fields to come together and to encourage young girls and everyone
around them.
2.) Munoz-Boudet, A. M., & Revenga, A. (2017, March 08). Breaking the STEM ceiling for
https://www.brookings.edu/blog/future-development/2017/03/07/breaking-the-stem-ceiling-for-g
irls/
The exploratory article explains that many countries around the world have been trying to
close the gender gap in education and in labor force, but many have not found luck in closing the
gender gap in STEM fields. The article mentions that the latest U.S. census said , only 1 in 7
women with a degree in STEM actually works in a STEM related job. The article shows some of
the reasons why there is a underrepresentation for women and they are that aspirations of young
people are molded by social norms and by parents, and that here is no information given to them
when they were a child and many institutional factors also play a part. The article is stating that
with a change of in the environment that is adaptable to change especially for young girls, it can
The authors, Ana Maria Munoz-Boudet and Ana Revenga, are both qualified to write
about this topic because Munoz-Boudet’s credentials includes a master’s degree from the
London School of Economics and doctorate studies from the University College of London. Her
experience includes being an senior social scientist in the World Bank’s Poverty Global Practice,
being a co-author of the World Development Report 2012 on Gender Equality and Development,
and she has worked on gender, poverty and inequality issues in Latin America and the
Caribbean, Europe and Central Asia and the Africa regions. Revenga’s credentials includes a
Ph.D. and an M.A. in Economics from Harvard University, a B.A. in Economics and
Mathematics from Wellesley College, and a Certificate in Human Rights from the Law Faculty
at the University of Geneva. Her experience includes being a senior fellow in the Global
Economy and Development program at the Brookings Institution and an adjunct lecturer at the
Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University and also has published journals on
employment, globalization, inequality, social protection, poverty, and trade issues. Their contact
information is included in the article. Written on March 7, 2017 this source is current on the
topic of encourage young girls into STEM and to also closing gender gaps in the STEM. The
authors have thoroughly evaluated how all sides of the issue were acknowledged by the source
by mentioning the opinions that were made at an early age for girls on they should be as they
grow up is very biased. This source is corroborated with other sources such as, the National
Center for Educational Statistics and European Institute for Gender Equality and more that relate
to girls in STEM. The purpose of this article is to inform and encourage young girls about
STEM. By sharing this information, it helps to create more jobs and opportunities for young girls
and women and so the appropriateness of this article contributes many benefits to young girls