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Women need a lot of time for careers in the MINT field

2020-05-11T02:57:23.196Z


In order to get pupils excited about the MINT area, an extra portion of commitment is often necessary. Later women often have to swim against the current. Why is the path still so difficult?


In order to get pupils excited about the MINT area, an extra portion of commitment is often necessary. Later women often have to swim against the current. Why is the path still so difficult?

Stuttgart (dpa / tmn) - In the natural science research workshop of the University of Leipzig, students are encouraged to study physics. The Cologne Craftswoman House encourages girls to discover the fun of training.

Offenburg University of Applied Sciences enables working women to (re) start studying engineering. Three of many MINT offers in Germany on the komm-mach-mint.de internet portal.

Encourage, encourage, enable - in Germany you make every effort to get schoolchildren and young women enthusiastic about STEM subjects and training. MINT stands for Mathematics, Computer Science, Science and Technology: Those who complete an apprenticeship or study in these specialist areas generally have excellent opportunities on the job market.

Network structures should support

A crisis-proof job and good earning opportunities are actually strong arguments. Why are there still more men than women in STEM industries doing careers?

"Clichés and social stereotypes persist," says Nicole Hoffmeister-Kraut (CDU), Minister of Economic Affairs in Baden-Württemberg. "Many job profiles are regarded as 'men's jobs'. There is often a lack of well-known female role models in STEM jobs with which girls and women can identify."

The country relies on the "Women in MINT professions" initiative, which is intended to encourage girls and women in their career choices and to accompany them on their way into the technical world of work.

Try and test yourself

According to Hoffmeister-Kraut, the project is successful. A decisive factor is that women and schoolchildren are given the opportunity to get to know STEM areas comprehensively: "It is important to get an impression of what job profiles are available today and, above all, that you see yourself in such professions can. "

Girls and women are more interested in the social and not only the functional relationships of technology. This requires gender-appropriate didactic approaches, STEM learning content should relate to everyday life and everyday life.

Success shouldn't depend on adaptability

The website komm-mach-mint.de documents how things are going in Germany and STEM across Germany: "We are registering clear progress, but the expectation that something will change quickly cannot be fulfilled," says Barbara Schwarze, professor of Gender and diversity studies and chairwoman of the board of the competence center technology-diversity-equal opportunities.

"Initially, girls and women were asked to adapt to male-dominated structures in order to be successful," she says. In the meantime, however, it is assumed that the overall social approach has to change.

Wolfgang Gollub agrees. He is responsible for securing young talent at the employers' association Gesamtmetall and observes that "they still have to swim against the tide" for female engineers. Not because men maliciously put stones in their way. You will find established structures that change only slowly, both during your studies and later in the professional world.

Strengthen girls' self-confidence

But girls, who are interested in technology, can have a difficult time even in their teens. The girls often feel that they have to apologize or explain them for their interest. Gender-sensitive didactics in schools can strengthen this self-confidence.

Because girls often rate themselves in science subjects worse than they are. Sometimes there are little screws that you can turn.

For example, when it comes to asking questions in scientific experiments. Students may not necessarily want to program the robot as a soccer player. But if you can incorporate it into an exciting story and bring a good choreography to it, you will be enthusiastic about it.

Source: merkur

All life articles on 2020-05-11

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