What barriers prevent interest or participation in STEM
careers? What resources or tools could be put in place to overcome these
barriers?
Those were just a few of the questions Utah Rep. Ben McAdams
and other panelists tackled Monday at Salt Lake Community College’s Miller
Campus during a discussion focused on expanding Utah’s pipeline of technology-savvy
students to feed the state’s growing tech industry sector. Diversity among
educators, in race, gender and age, became part of the discussion.
Panel host and SLCC President Dr. Deneece G. Huftalin said
it’s incumbent on institutions to have a diverse faculty, and she urged professionals
on the panel and in the audience to consider carving out time to teach at SLCC.
She said STEM (science, mathematics, engineering and technology) and tech-specific disciplines have applications in many career paths. And
nursing needs male teachers, Huftalin added, just as engineering needs more
female instructors.
A female college student in the audience told panelists that
“gender division” was a barrier she faced while pursuing a STEM degree, noting
many fellow female students who started with her on the same track have since changed
majors. Sarah Jones, cofounder and COO of Women’s Tech Council, said women need
to see more females in STEM-related fields of study along the way to their
careers in STEM industries. “There’s life after college,” Jones told the
student. “It gets better. … If you can just kind of power through that. I say,
stick with it. Talk to me if you need encouragement.” Once female students pursuing
STEM careers are in the workforce, Jones noted, they can access communities “where
you feel connected and supported and see other examples of success and what
that looks like.”
In Utah, home to Silicon Slopes, tech companies employed
more than 118,000 people in 2018. Efforts to feed those growing industries,
panelists agreed, have become more focused, strategic and collaborative over
the past 10 years. “We’ve seen a tremendous amount of progress in K-12 and
higher education to leverage resources and work collaboratively to learn from each
other,” said Tami Goetz, executive director of Utah STEM Action Center. Companies
and education institutions, she added, are now partners in developing a
pipeline that takes students all the way from classrooms to boardrooms while
sharing publicly how to get that done. “We’re not really doing that in a vacuum
any longer.”
Panelists discussed barriers facing non-traditional
students, such as those who are older or, more specifically, mothers who are
seeking more education before reentering the workforce. McAdams said he is
working on passing the so-called FINISH Act, which would provide grant funding
for educational institutions to find ways to help
non-traditional, low-income and first-generation students who might already be
close to the “finish line” with their education. McAdams closed the discussion
with words of advice for parents and children navigating the uncertainties of today’s
education pathways and possible career options.
“Many of the careers that will be employing people in 10
years do not even exist today,” McAdams said. “So, we’re preparing youth to
enter a workforce with skills that are diverse and adaptable. And that’s going
to be a critical part of that. Pursue those things that are challenging and exciting
to you and know that it will prepare you for the jobs of the future. That will
be incredibly valuable.”
