Diversity is a very important part of today’s workplaces, and the STEM fields have been pushing for many years to shift from being a male dominated field to be an inclusive career path. STEM is an acronym for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. If you live in Arkansas, you might be familiar with STEM from Governor Hutchinson’s focus on bringing STEM jobs to our state and increasing STEM education in schools. Nationally, there are many programs that aim to help young women become the next leaders in the STEM field. In STEM-related classes, the effects of the push for more women in STEM are being reviewed by female students and are still up for debate.

Studying STEM fields can be a gateway to many influential and high paying careers. As the capabilities of technology increase, the amount of jobs related to STEM fields will likely increase as well.

“I think that the majority of jobs will be related to STEM in some way,” senior Nathania Nischal said. “Technology is having an increasing role in all fields, ranging anywhere from medical to the arts. Everyone will have to deal with some aspect of STEM, even if their occupation isn’t explicitly in the STEM field.”.

The growing importance of STEM in future career options highlights the need for STEM fields to become more diverse in gender, race, and background. As of now, however, many of those looking at STEM related fields see a lack of diversity.