Women comprise less than a quarter of the STEM workforce in the US, and they are most likely to leave those jobs compared to men. The story is not much different on the nation’s campuses, where more than half of STEM PhD holders are employed in nonacademic positions, according to a study released this month from American Institutes for Research.
But the good news for mathematics/statistics PhD holders is that a majority (61%) are working in academia, the most of those with other STEM PhDs.
The unique challenges of women in the mathematical and statistical sciences will be the focus next week at NIMBioS as some of the nation’s top academics and professionals in math and statistics gather for a three-day workshop to empower early career professionals.
The Opportunities Workshop for Women in the Mathematical Sciences aims to familiarize women in the early stages of their careers with professional opportunities in academics, industry and government labs and help them to thrive in mathematics-related fields. Speakers, panelists and discussion leaders will be women in research and management positions in industry and government labs as well as women in academia.
Co-sponsored by NIMBioS, the Statistical and Applied Mathematical Sciences Institute, the NSF Mathematical Sciences Diversity Committee, and the Association for Women in Mathematics, the workshop will feature four panel discussions plus eight academic talks by women who earned degrees in pure or applied mathematics or statistics. The panel discussions will focus on grant writing, different types of academic jobs, tenure, and industry and government careers. Breakout groups on job searching and early career issues, a presentation on how to network and a poster session will also be held.
Dr. Nicole Else-Quest (Pyschology, Univ of Maryland, Baltimore) will give the keynote address, “Attitudes, Not Aptitude: Understanding the Roots of Gender Gaps,” at 4 p.m. in the Shiloh Room at UTK’s University Center. The talk is open to the public.
While registration for the workshop is now closed, much of the event’s proceedings can be accessed live at https://legacy.nimbios.org/videos/livestream.
For more information, including the complete agenda and participant list, visit https://legacy.nimbios.org/education/WS_opportunities