This document discusses increasing diversity in STEM fields by better promoting the stories of women in STEM. It notes that while 74% of high school girls are interested in STEM, perceived gender barriers still exist. Although women make up half the workforce, they hold less than 25% of STEM jobs. The document advocates improving diversity through highlighting role models like Dr. Cynthia Breazeal in robotics, Jane McGonigal in gaming, and Jonecia Keels and Jazmine Miller who created an educational app. Diversity leads to better business outcomes like higher profits through diverse perspectives.

1. Lynne d Johnson
Director, Digital and Social Media Strategies
Waggener Edstrom
@lynneluvah

2. First, A Little About Me

3. What I Did As A Kid
VS

4. The 80s Changed My Life

5. No Not That, But…

6. And This…

7. And This…

8. And Then…

9. And Even…

10. But Then I Quit

11. I Didn’t Know About Ada
Lovelace

12. I Didn’t Know About Mae
Jemison

13. The Problem

14. Girls & STEM…The Reality
The Girl Scout Research Institute Says…
 Seventy-four percent of high school girls across the country are
interested in the fields and subjects of STEM.
 Girls are interested in the process of learning, asking questions, and
problem solving.
 Girls want to help people and make a difference in the world.
 Girls who are interested in STEM are high achievers who have
supportive adult networks and are exposed to STEM fields.
 Girls who are interested in STEM fields are actually interested in
many subjects and career opportunities—STEM is just one area of
interest among many.
 Perceived gender barriers are still high for girls and may help explain
why STEM fields aren’t their top career choices.
 African American and Hispanic girls have high interest in STEM, high
confidence, and a strong work ethic, but have fewer supports, less
exposure, and lower academic achievement than Caucasian girls.

15. Women & STEM…The Reality
US Department of Commerce, Economics and Statistics
Administration Says…
 Although women fill close to half of all jobs in the U.S.
economy, they hold less than 25 percent of STEM jobs. This
has been the case throughout the past decade, even as
college-educated women have increased their share of the
overall workforce.
 Women with STEM jobs earned 33 percent more than
comparable women in non-STEM jobs – considerably higher
than the STEM premium for men. As a result, the gender wage
gap is smaller in STEM jobs than in non-STEM jobs.
 Women hold a disproportionately low share of STEM
undergraduate degrees, particularly in engineering.
 Women with a STEM degree are less likely than their male
counterparts to work in a STEM occupation; they are more
likely to work in education or healthcare.

16. How Do We Better Tell The
Story Of Women In STEM?

21. Why Does It Matter?

22. Diversity Is Better For Business
Research Show…
Informational diversity - differences in
educational background, training, and work
experience increase the likelihood that diverse
perspectives and opinions exist in a
workgroup, which means:
 Workplace diversity leads to better products
 Workplace diversity leads to higher profits

23. Women Becoming A Force In
Tech
Illuminate Ventures Says…
 Efficiency, efficiency, efficiency: The high-tech companies that women build are more capital-efficient
than the norm. The average venture-backed company run by a woman had annual revenues that were
12 percent higher, using an average of one-third less committed capital.
 Big Progress in Recent Times: More women are serving as officers of venture-backed companies with
successful exits. In 1988, only 4% of the 134 firms that went public in the U.S. had women in top
management positions growing to over 41% percent by 2004. Of 2009’s 19 high-tech IPOs, all but two
had at least one woman officer.
 Fewer Failures: Despite often being capital-constrained, women-owned businesses are more likely to
survive the transition from raw start-up to established company than the average.
 Expanded IP Contributions: From 1985 to 2005, the annual number of U.S. female-invented fractional
software patents increased 45-fold – three times the average growth rate in that sector.
 Growing Influence in Tech: Women-owned or led firms are the fastest growing sector of new venture
creation in the U.S., growing at five times the rate of all new firms between 1997 and 2006 – now
representing nearly 50% of all privately held businesses. These companies are being founded in the
same business sectors at similar ratios to those led by men.
 Venture-level Returns: In the past 10 years more than 125 companies with over 200 women co-
founders or officers have achieved IPOs or >$50M M&A exits in the U.S. high-tech sector alone
 Diversity Improves Performance: Organizations that are the most inclusive of women in top
management achieve 35% higher ROE and 34% better total return to shareholders versus their peers –
and research shows gender diversity to be particularly valuable where innovation is key.
 Financial Bottleneck: $1M+ woman led companies are twice as likely as those led by men to gain debt
versus equity capital. In 2008 woman co-founded tech businesses gained less than 10% of venture
investment in the high-tech sector
 Impact of Women Investors: Women now represent just over 15 percent of the angel investors, but just
5%-7% of the partner-level high-tech venture capital investors in the U.S. Firms with women investment
partners are 70 percent more likely to lead an investment in a woman entrepreneur than those with only
male partners.

24. The Future

25. Dr. Cynthia Breazeal
Cynthia Breazeal is an Associate Professor of Media Arts and Sciences
at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where she founded and
directs the Personal Robots Group at the Media Lab. She is a pioneer
of social robotics and Human Robot Interaction. She has authored the
book ―Designing Sociable Robots‖, has published over 100 peer-
reviewed articles in journals and conferences on the topics of
autonomous robotics, artificial intelligence, human robot
interaction, and robot learning.

26. Jane McGonigal
Jane McGonigal, PhD is a world-renowned designer of alternate reality
games — or, games that are designed to improve real lives and solve
real problems. She is the New York Times bestselling author of
Reality is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better and How They
Can Change the World (Penguin Press, 2011) — and is the inventor
and co-founder of SuperBetter, a game that has helped more than
120,000 players tackle real-life health challenges such as
depression, anxiety, chronic pain, and traumatic brain injury.

27. Jonecia Keels and Jazmine
Miller
In 2010, Jonecia Keels and Jazmine Miller won the AT&T Big Mobile on
Campus Challenge for creating a next-generation e-learning mobile
application available on the iOS App Store called HBCU Buddy, that
educates users about historically black colleges and universities.
Today, Keels is an iOS software engineer at Apple and Miller is a
computer software professional in Atlanta.

28. Jonecia Keels and Jazmine
Miller
In 2010, Jonecia Keels and Jazmine Miller won the AT&T Big Mobile on
Campus Challenge for creating a next-generation e-learning mobile
application available on the iOS App Store called HBCU Buddy, that
educates users about historically black colleges and universities.
Today, Keels is an iOS software engineer at Apple and Miller is a
computer software professional in Atlanta.

29. Thank You!
Lynne d Johnson
Director, Digital and Social Media Strategies
Waggener Edstrom
@lynneluvah