Workforce development has been hyper-focused on growing the STEM talent pipeline, and for good reason. 2.4 million STEM jobs are going unfilled. And while STEM continues to grow, the industry continues to suffer from a diversity gap. As of 2018, women represent 47% of the entire workforce, yet only 28% of the STEM workforce. It gets worse when you consider the lack of minority representation. Blacks and Hispanics combined only represent 16% of the STEM workforce. There’s a lot of untapped potential that human resources professionals are missing out on.
The big questions remain: What can we do to encourage a more equitable and balanced representation in the STEM workforce? How can we close the diversity gap and fill the talent pipeline?
One strategy is encouragement. But how do you get started and encourage underrepresented groups to consider careers in STEM? Many studies point to the value and importance of positive role models. Parents seem like the obvious solution for this sort of guidance, — and they absolutely play an important role— but they are not the only adults who can influence and encourage young people to consider a career in STEM. Think of all the adults young people encounter in their daily lives – from teachers to community members, and maybe even supervisors at part-time jobs. Young people are absorbing information through all of their interactions, as minute as some may seem. And if you add in the inevitable desire to “fit in,” peer pressure can be a good thing if properly applied. A recent peer mentoring study from Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that 100 percent of female engineering college students with female mentors stuck with the program. A 2014 study produced by MENTOR found that 13.5 million young people don’t have a mentor in their lives. Imagine how many young people might stay the course and find success if they just had a little more guidance.
A common myth about mentoring is that it’s too time-consuming, but the truth is that it’s not. Just a short conversation can be the critical moment that changes a young person’s trajectory. “Don’t underestimate the impact that you can have on a young student’s career development,” said Greg Hutton, a corporate technology leader with Verizon, a long-time partner in supporting young people through NAF. “The messages that you’re able to share could be small. It doesn’t necessarily always have to be something novel or something that’s well prepared, rehearsed, and polished. Just being able to share your story sometimes has such a significant impact on a student.”
NAF works with companies like Verizon to bring business professionals into high school classrooms all across the country. Companies like Verizon know that they can make a difference in closing the workforce gap by providing opportunities for young people to gain exposure to STEM professionals and learn what it’s really like first-hand to work in this fast-growing field. NAF’s educational design is centered on providing real working world context to high school students through a network of adults that are gracious enough to share their experiences with students. Sometimes it’s an ongoing mentoring relationship, and sometimes it’s one guest speaking experience that opens the doors to the possibilities that young people never knew existed.
January is National Mentoring Month, and as the saying goes, “there’s no time like the present.” We invite you to consider sharing your time and talent with our nation’s future workforce. You have a unique opportunity to play an active role in changing the face of the STEM workforce while making a life-changing difference! Can we count on your commitment?
Learn more at naf.org/get-involved.