U.S. Rep. Barbara Comstock (R-VA) highlighted the importance of providing opportunities for women to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields in a recent op-ed.
Comstock, the first female member of Congress to represent Virginia’s 10th congressional district, noted that women fill close to half of all jobs in country, yet they hold fewer than 25 percent of all STEM jobs.
Such statistics compelled Comstock to sponsor the Inspiring the Next Space Pioneers, Innovators, Researchers and Explorers (INSPIRE) Women Act, H.R. 4755, and to co-sponsor the Promoting Women in Entrepreneurship Act, H.R. 4742.
The INSPIRE Women Act authorizes the NASA administrator to use such initiatives as NASA GIRLS, Aspire to Inspire and the Summer Institute in Science, Technology, Engineering and Research (SISTER) to engage young women in STEM fields.
“The goal of NASA GIRLS is to create a virtual mentoring project that offers a one-of-a-kind experience to middle school-aged female students using online capabilities,” Comstock wrote. “NASA’s vision for Aspire to Inspire is to present STEM career opportunities to young girls by introducing them to, and explaining the life stories of, career women at NASA. The SISTER program is designed to increase awareness of nontraditional career fields by introducing female middle school students to women engineers, mathematicians, scientists, technicians and researchers at the Goddard Space Flight Center.”
Under the Promoting Women in Entrepreneurship Act, the National Science Foundation would be authorized to use entrepreneurial programs to recruit women and to broaden its focus into the business world.
“The bill also includes a number of findings regarding women in the STEM fields, including the finding that only 26 percent of women who attain degrees in STEM fields ultimately work in STEM jobs,” Comstock said. “This bill aims to improve this statistic by giving women the necessary guidance so they can thrive and break down barriers in the open and free market.”
Comstock noted that women who pursue STEM careers earn 33 percent more than comparable women working in non-STEM fields.
“For the United States to continue to be on the forefront of technological innovation, women must be involved in STEM fields and careers so that America can compete in the 21st century economy,” Comstock concluded.