HARRISBURG, Pa. — Harrisburg University of Science and Technology officials say they are committed to developing a diverse group of learners and striving for gender equality in the sciences for students and early career professionals.
“The more women we put into the workforce, with skills in the science and tech disciplines, the more we impact moving that needle to better represent women in a workforce where women are underrepresented. and where we need more talent to compete globally,” said Bilita Mattes, Executive Director of STEM-Up Network.
Undergraduate students at HU are approximately 50% female, with the graduate population between 30 to 40% female.
These statistics are unusually high for a STEM school and help to increase representation.
Mattes says these women also need more support to continue to grow throughout their careers.
"Once we get the women and girls excited about science and technology, they come to school we need to support them. because the research shows that we lose over 50% of women in STEM positions and professions in the first 10-12 years,” said Mattes.
That’s why the stem-up program was born.
STEM-Up is a multi-disciplinary stem community, that offers mentorship, leadership, and scholarship opportunities to slow the decline of early-career women in stem.
“Our target audience is young women, early career professionals, but it also invites in more senior women to mentor those younger professionals or soon-to-be professionals,” said Mattes.
Through the help of summits, networking, and monthly meet-ups, STEM-Up hopes to build up early stem professionals by providing real-world strategies to guide them on a path to success.
“It's amazing to me how often I hear ‘its nice to hear that you’re not the only one.’ meaning even if you're not sitting at the table with me I can call you I can interact with you as a woman who has been through that gauntlet and just get some encouraging words because some days that’s all it takes," Mattes said.
Click to learn more about STEM-Up and Harrisburg University of Science and Technology.