Women are significantly underrepresented in STEM professions and for the few who are pursuing science, technology, engineering or math careers – there are a lot of financial challenges. That's why a lot of companies and organizations are offering scholarships and other financial assistance to help bridge this gender gap in these crucial fields.
Only 1 in 4 people working in computer and mathematical professions and 1 in 6 in architecture and engineering careers are women, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. What's more, for every dollar a man in STEM makes, a woman earns 14 cents less, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce.
"Increasing access to higher education opportunities represents one of the best strategies to narrow the gender gap in STEM fields," said Rachel Morford, president of the Society of Women Engineers. "Scholarships help start that positive trend by helping to fund a woman's access to undergraduate, post-graduate, and doctoral STEM programs. Scholarships are also vital to help ensure success in those programs, as they give students more opportunity to focus on their classwork, design projects, and pursue research or internship opportunities – all of which work to help keep women in STEM fields through graduation and beyond."
Scholarships available for women in STEM
There are a lot of scholarships from organizations, foundations and companies that are available to women pursuing STEM careers.
The Society of Women Engineers (SWE) is a pioneer in supporting students whose gender identity is that of female and in pursuit of an ABET-accredited (Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology) bachelors or graduate program in engineering, engineering technology, and computer science.Along with providing on-campus support to students, in 2020 SWE gave 260+ new and renewed scholarships which were worth a total of $1 million to female students around the globe. SWE makes the application process easy, with one application submission allowing for students to be qualified for all applications that are relevant to them.
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Microsoft conducted a study where they found that only 7% of women, compared to 15% of men, graduated college in 2016 with a degree in science, technology, engineering or math. Additionally, women tend to pursue science-oriented degrees instead of engineering, math or computer-based fields, and are lower paid than men. Microsoft offers scholarships for women who plan to pursue a career in the STEAM field (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math) at the college level.
"Having access to scholarships can help to alleviate some of the burden that women face today, and it is vital to them receiving an education that will get them the same seat at a table as their fellow male classmates," said Sasha Ramani, associate director of corporate strategy at MPOWER Financing, which offers scholarships to women pursuing STEM careers. "These can all help close the gaps for not only women – but those in underrepresented communities."
Some other scholarships for women pursuing STEM careers include: The BHW scholarship for women in STEM, the Virginia Heinlein Memorial Scholarship, the Science Ambassador Scholarship funded by Cards Against Humanity, the ABC Humane Wildlife Women in STEM Academic Scholarship, the Girls Who STEM scholarship, the Adobe Research Women-in-Technology Scholarship, the Hyundai Women in Stem Scholarship and the Amazon Future Engineer Scholarship Program.
Scholarships that are specifically for women pursuing engineering careers include: The Palantir Women in Technology Scholarship, the Lynn G. Bellenger Scholarship and the UPS Scholarship for Female Students.
The application process
Kaylin Moss, a senior at Marist College studying computer science, applied to hundred of scholarships, which she found through databases, social media or internet searches. She won a Generation Google scholarship.
